Vicious Circles
by McQ
Summary: CHAPTER 16 INSTALLED. This is the sequel to WAIT FOR ME and takes places directly after it. The Brotherhood is back and more determined than ever. As their numbers increase, so do their enemies. Featuring Toad, Magneto, Pyro, Juggernaut, etc.
1. Chapter 1: Compliance

**This is a SEQUEL. Please read WAIT FOR ME by McQ (that's me) or none of what you're about to read will make sense.**

**Chapter 1: Compliance **

"Magneto. Magneto?"

Was he temporarily deaf? No, he knew someone was calling his name but he heard nothing, or, if he heard it, he did not process it. It was like someone calling you in a dream. Hollow, dead.

"Dead?" he must have said aloud.

"What'll I tell him?"

Tell him…_tell_ him? To tell is to relate a piece of news, a fragment of information. Telling involved speaking. Speaking involved words. What words were there for this?

"He's coming."

He gathered his wits, his vocabulary. "Well, if he's coming," he said slowly, "then we don't have to tell him anything." Magneto turned. "Do we?"

* * *

…**eight months ago…**

When you move fast, faster than anything alive, everyone else seems to move slowly. Slowly like…like school. You watch the clock and minutes feel like hours and an hour feels like a year! And you wait and you wait and when the bell finally rings, you feel like you haven't moved in decades.

For Quicksilver, this was more true than anyone could understand. Minutes _were_ hours! Hours _were_ years! What one person could accomplish in an hour, Quicksilver could finish, with energy to spare, in five seconds. He read books like an android. TV moved far too slowly for the speed demon and life—life moved more slowly than…than…than…than the slowest thing you could possibly imagine moving as slowly as it possibly could in the rain on the hottest, most humid day in August!

"Yeah," he mumbled to himself, agreeing with his own fleeting thoughts. He tapped his foot at lighting speed. He sounded like a telegraph.

Magneto and Juggernaut were talking…talking…talking! Goddammit, all they did was talktalktalktalktalk!

Juggernaut turned. "So you agree wif me?" he asked Quicksilver.

"Uh, I stopped paying attention like a year ago, but if you just said we should get out of here and actually do something, than I'm all for it," he answered, without looking up.

Magneto sighed. "Quicksilver, you must understand that action without planning is useless…and dangerous."

He stood up…too quickly! Dizzy. "Wow, yeah, um…" he shook his head vigorously. "Look, I brought you those damn disks with all that info on it."

"Which has proved invaluable," Magneto interjected.

Quicksilver, of course, was referring to the disk he had stolen from the crazy lab coat guy's office, Dr. Weir, or whatever. And also, to the disk which he had used to dump all of Weir's computer files onto during the battle. He had taken little time to accomplish this and had presented his findings to Magneto not long after they had arrived at the Lair.

That was three weeks ago. And they were still here. And they still hadn't done ANYTHING!

"Well, I mean, is there anything on that…in that?…stuff that I got that we can use?" he asked.

Then there was laughter, high pitched laughter, the kind only a girl can make when she's being chased or tickled.

Out of nowhere Eden and Toad sped across the upper walls at lighting speed. She was ahead of him, and he was letting her get ahead. He wanted to chase her. He laughed and sped up slightly. They were there and gone in a second, unaware that anyone had been witness to their antics.

Magneto's head had turned toward the noise and Juggernaut smirked. Quicksilver rolled his eyes and flopped back down onto the couch.

"Well," was all Magneto said.

"Jus' got his tongue back," Juggernaut explained.

Magneto's eyes widened and met Juggernaut's. "Ah," he replied. "I see."

And then they started talking…all over again.

* * *

"Toad, stop, I can't breathe!" she cried, laughing and coughing at once.

He stopped immediately. "Ok, ok, we'll stop." They were on the roof now. She sat back leaning back on her arms, trying to catch her breath. Toad looked at her with concern. "That was too much, sorry."

"It's ok," she answered. A few moments later, she was breathing more steadily. He lay down and put his head in her lap.

"I love you," he said.

She stroked his face and hair and smiled. He closed his eyes. This was heaven. Had to be. He felt her fingers, her touch…listened to her breathe, felt her blood pump through her legs…her hair wisped in the wind. He reached up and stroked the back of her neck with the tips of his fingers, let them fall down her back, and then up again, and down again…a rhythmic motion he knew she liked. Then he opened his eyes and saw she was staring right at him.

Toad took his hand from behind her and touched her collar bone, back and forth. Still she looked into his eyes. He let his fingers fall, gently and softly down between her breasts and outside her shirt to her stomach. He stopped there and edged closer to her and hid his face against her stomach, kissing it and sighing, taking in the smell of her, the feel of her.

She lay back all the way and he crept up her body with kisses. He kissed her everywhere. He knelt up with a knee on either side of her body and just looked at her. He ran both hands down her body and felt such a strange seriousness and sadness as he did so. It was a happy sadness…if such a thing existed. Suddenly, he felt he wanted to die.

He wanted to die and stay in this moment for eternity. Everything, just as it should be…just as he had always wanted it to be.

She rested her hands on his thighs and stroked them with her fingertips, such a simple, erotic sensation. It drowned him.

From where he was he extended his tongue, went round and tickled the back of her neck, and then he went more slowly up the side, to the front and then the other side. She closed her eyes and breathed, her fingers tensing. She opened her mouth just slightly and let her quick, beautifully black, forked tongue swirl up and down his and her eyes smiled. With surprising force, she pulled his tongue into her mouth, rode up it with her lips, sucked on it, until she was raised off the ground, with her mouth against his. Unbelievably erotic…

Their bodies pressed together, hearts and minds thumping impatiently and wantonly and passionately…playfully and without scruple.

He might have died and lived again in a kiss like that. But it was over in a second—she pulled away—escaped!—and raced across the roof and slithered over the edge.

"Oh! You bitch!" he cried. He went to stand, but couldn't just yet. "Jesus Christ," he exclaimed to no one, the pull in his groin almost unbearable.

And then he laughed, despite it all.

He was going to catch her. He'd give her a head start.

And then she'd pay.

* * *

Hawk crouched low in the trees, almost blending in, but Cain could see him. He signaled his team and they moved forward.

You would not presume, looking at Juggernaut, that he was capable of being covert. He was however, it was not easy, but it was possible. His team hid well and though Hawk was above them, he was not looking their way.

Jewel and Graze moved around behind the prospective location of 'the enemy' while two other mutants, fast as cheetahs and quiet as mice, charged forward. Toad leapt from above towards their position. Caught by surprise, Hawk's team unleashed what they could, but Cain's team…

Well, Cain's team had Cain.

He plowed into the location last, knocking the other team aside, carefully reserving his full strength so as not to kill anyone.

The battle was over.

"Goddammit, I didn't see you," said Hawk, nursing a bloodied arm. Cain wasn't sure where Hawk was from, but he had some kind of an accent—Middle Eastern, maybe.

"You didn't see _me_?" Juggernaut laughed. "What's it they about hawk eyes? Don't seem like a great advantage to me."

Hawk hissed at him and spread his wings, lifting off the ground.

"Ah, come on, Hawk, noffing personal mate," Juggernaut called up at him, but he pretended not to hear.

"Sore loser," Toad said, coming up behind him.

"Yeah," said Cain. "Good to see you up and about mate," he turned to the other man, "but you've _been_ up and about, ain't ye?" he finished pointedly.

Toad grinned. "What's it to ya?"

Juggernaut laughed. "What's say us two limeys 'ave ourselves a pint, or two, eh? Talk about being up and about?" Toad frowned. "Ah, come on, I just wanna know if she's as good as she looks."

"She is," he responded.

Juggernaut removed his helmet. He laughed, "Lucky man." He grinned. "I'm almos' all right," he commented, "you?"

Toad flexed his fingers and rolled his shoulders. "Yeah. Jus' get the webbing back in my fingers, a bit more strength. I'm almost all there."

They walked towards the Lair. Cain liked Toad. Maybe it was a kindred spirit kind of thing…of the same land, or something. "I kind of expected us to get stronger," Toad continued, "you know, more than we were before. Like what happened to Magneto."

Cain shrugged. "Maybe it's got somfing to with the amount we got," he suggested, "Magneto got more than we did."

Toad shoved his hands into his pockets. "Maybe."

Jaida was walking towards them looking serene and beautiful.

"Oy, Jaida, we was just talkin' about you," Juggernaut called.

She approached them, smiling. "What about me?"

"Nothing—in particular," Toad said before Juggernaut had the chance. "What's up?"

"Made lunch. I came to get you."

Toad put his arms around her and pulled her in. "I thought we could go for a swim," he said.

She looked up at him with a stunning sexual innocence. "You're not hungry?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh, I'm hungry," he laughed quietly and kissed her neck…and kissed it and kissed it and suddenly Cain was forgotten.

"Right, I'll jus' go inside then," and he did and they never heard him or if they did, they did not answer.

* * *

"I don't understand."

Hank looked hopelessly at Logan. How could he understand? Logan lived in world of action and reaction. Hank—well, Hank was a diplomat. He lived in a world of indecision and bad decision. "Try to Logan," he said, "one mutant killed over four hundred men—military men, armed men—and she did it in less than ten minutes."

"Yeah, and then I killed that mutant," Logan growled. "I killed her," he repeated, more to himself.

"Logan, I understand your anger, but I understand their's as well."

He heard none of it. "They made you the fucking UN Ambassador, for Christ's sake!"

Hank put his furry blue face into his furry blue hands. What could he say?

Logan went on. "We helped them! We killed one of our own to save them!"

"Logan!" Beast raised his eyes. "Don't you understand? There were more mutants _attacking_ Alcatraz than there were _defending_ it!"

Now they had reached a stalemate. Nothing Logan could say would change what happened there. Beast was right and Wolverine knew it.

Storm spoke. "We have to fight this…You have to do something!"

"We can do nothing but comply," Hank said. "You don't understand…I _have_ tried…I _have_ fought." He shook his head. "I'm not even supposed to be here telling you this."

Storm did not seem to hear him. "We'll help you Hank. We'll fight with you."

Hank's eyes swam. "Ororo, you don't understand—" he stopped.

"Hank?"

He looked away from her, out of the window and beyond that room. "I've already registered."

* * *

"So, they gather us in order to count our numbers?"

"Looks that way," Juggernaut replied. He switched off the TV. A group of mutants in a line a mile long disappeared. It had not been a line a protestors, no…it had been a line of registers…mutants willing to write their names, ages, dates of birth and their abilities into a little book for little people that would keep track of who they were and where they were from.

Magneto sat on the couch, fingers steepled, eyes gray with contemplation and plotting. Eden was beside him and Toad beside her. Quicksilver tapped his foot anxiously. He may have been talking to himself, it was hard to tell. Hawk's wings were erect and his arms were crossed. He leant against the wall. And they all waited for him to speak.

"Whadda we do?" Juggernaut asked.

Magneto smiled placidly. "I think we should go register."

* * *

"I have to put down my abilities?" Marie exclaimed.

Storm had just finished explaining the new Mutant Registration Law and her students sat dumbfounded and nearly silent. "Yes," she answered with as much composure as she could manage.

The girl fumed. "How do I write down that I can kill people just by touching them without getting arrested!"

Storm sighed. "This is hard for all of us—"

Marie leapt out of her chair and made for the door, turning as she got there to face her teacher. "It's harder for some," she replied. She opened the door. "And I'm not doing it."

She slammed the door behind her.

"Storm…do we have to do it?"

William looked up at her with his strange, sparkling eyes. The width of his powers were uncertain as he was so young, but someday, she knew, he would be incredible.

"Yes, William, we do. It's the law."

The students stirred and mumbled to one another. "What if we don't?" someone asked.

"Then we'll be punished," she answered. It cut her to say it. It ate at her soul.

"Like, put in jail?" Kitty asked. "They'll arrest us?"

"They can't arrest us," Bobby interjected.

"Yes," Storm said, "they can. And they will." She ran her fingers through her hair. This was harder than anything she had ever said, or ever would say, or ever expected to have to say. "We will also…be given…special identification cards, like driver's licenses…which we will be expected to present at any time…"

The students were more than stunned, they were horrified. They didn't breathe. They didn't move.

She continued. "I will take groups of you for the next week to City Hall where we will register. Tomorrow…Bobby, Kitty, William, Frances, and Jubilee will come with me. There will be a schedule up tomorrow for the rest of the week." There were no protests. Nothing said out loud, at least. In that case, there was only one more thing for Storm to say.

"Class dismissed."


	2. Chapter 2: Defiance

**Chapter 2: Defiance**

_Secrets, like Circles, surround us_

_Mysteries that live to confound us_

_I keep mine,_

_you keep yours,_

_But remember…_

_I'll find out_

_Have no doubt_

_Just surrender…_

* * *

The quiet was the strangest part of the whole affair.

No one made a sound. The only discernable noise was the shuffle of feet and the occasional "Sorry" if someone bumped up against somebody else. The line was long…longer than any line Marie had ever stood in.

She stared at the people ahead of her, she stared back at the ever-growing amount of people behind her. Not a word, not a whisper.

Police on all sides of them, front, back, and at each hand. Large guns and Cure weapons threatened them. Everyone kept their heads down.

Her heart beat in such anger…she knew this scene. She had witnessed this before. In the mind of Magneto, memories that were not her own…a line of innocents trooping forward towards an unforeseeable demise. She had seen it! She had felt it! And she felt it now.

"Rogue?"

Bobby had registered yesterday, but he had accompanied her today. She wished he hadn't. He had insisted, though, and she had acquiesced. Bobby really thought he had convinced her that this would be alright. So did Storm…so did everybody! Logan was holding off, but no one could force the Wolverine to do anything.

But Rogue wasn't here to be forced into registering. She wasn't here to sign her name to death warrant. No. She would walk up to that desk. They would hand her a pen and ask her questions and she would…

She wasn't sure what she'd do just yet…but whatever it was, it would probably get her arrested. She wanted to be arrested! She wanted all of these pathetic mutants to see her thrown in jail…maybe then they would rally against this nonsense and cruelty.

Where was this coming from? This potent desire to lead the charge? This Martin Luther King-esque courage? She thought she knew…but she didn't want to realize it fully.

"Rogue?"

"What?" she spat.

Bobby was taken aback. "I was just—are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" She turned away from him. Since her powers had returned almost full-throttle, their relationship had drifted in a downward spiral. He insisted that he didn't care, that he didn't need—that. But he did care! And he did need it! He was human, for Christ's sake, and a guy! Of course he needed it!

Her throat tightened. Pyro had been right, goddammit…she hated him for being right. And she hated herself for being so naïve as to think he had been wrong.

Rogue was about to speak again, to tell Bobby, who was trying to console her by taking her leather-gloved hand, to let go and leave her alone! Just then, a sudden, frightening overcast shadowed everything and the sky went black.

Rain and thunder came out of nowhere. And then the earth began to shake. Bobby grabbed her instinctively and she shrugged him off. She stepped beyond the caution tape and the police barriers and swiped the rain out of her eyes.

A huge, fantastic bird dove out of the black dome of the sky. As it came closer, she saw it was not a bird, but a man with wings—huge brown wings, and he was a tawny, gold-brown himself. She was taken with his beauty for a moment before she saw his clawed feet lift a policeman by the shoulders and fling him down to the earth some twelve stories. He did the same to another officer and then another. The pounding that made the earth shake grew louder and more pronounced. It source appeared in the form of a giant. A helmeted, larger-than-life giant! He plowed through the street knocking down and crushing anyone that stood in his way. Bullets bounced off of his bare chest and arms. He was smiling.

Anyone who was capable of doing so had taken cover. Most of these mutants were simple class ones and twos; and besides, very few people ever want to get involved in someone else's fight.

She watched the large giant run, leaving huge pot holes in the pavements in his wake. She watched as an ice sheet the length of the street stretched before him and he fell with such a crash, she collapsed with the shock it.

Bobby took her arm and hoisted her up. She did not resist. The giant struggled to his feet, but the ice increased. It was rather hysterical to watch him as he cursed and scrambled and fell.

"It's the Brotherhood!" Bobby announced.

"Really?" Rogue sneered. "I thought we were in Danger Room session!"

He looked sardonically at her. "We gotta call for help," he said. "Call the Mansion."

The giant slammed his giant fist into the ice sheet, and picking up a piece of it, turned it into a projectile. It nearly hit Rogue, but she ducked and it hit Bobby. He had taken his ice form and deflected it. But Goliath wasn't finished. The more ice Bobby made, the more weapons he fabricated, lunging them anywhere and everywhere.

"Call the Mansion!"

She had her phone out, but she had taken to staring in awe at the battle around her. There were dozens of mutants now. They were all feathers, and claws and colors—it was like a violent Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and the floats and balloons had revolted. She took off her glove, dialed the Mansion and pressed the phone to her ear—

And then it was gone.

The phone had seemingly leapt from her hand to the hand of a short, thin white-haired boy in tight clothes. "Callin' for help?" he sneered. He had pointed, white-bright teeth.

"Gimme that!" she reached for the phone, but he was gone.

She turned to call to Bobby, but he was still engaged with the giant. The storm had lessened somewhat. But the rain still fell. She was soaked. She ran towards him, dodged ice chunks, and slipped at his side.

"You call them?" he cried.

"They took my phone!" she yelled back.

"Go and see—"

Rogue never knew what Bobby wanted her to go and see. She never even asked him about it later.

A woman, with long, ice-blue hair descended almost on top of him. She hovered just above him and kicked him in the back of his head. He remained on his feet, but was stunned. In his moment of indecision, she wrapped left arm around Bobby's throat and lifted him into the air in a headlock, choking him.

Without even thinking about it, Rogue grabbed the woman's bare ankle before she flew too far above her. Her hand was bare against the woman's bare skin. The woman hovered still, dropped Bobby and tried to fight her off, but as she pulled away, Rogue pulled her closer to earth.

Rogue's mind flooded and the air was thin and smelled suddenly of sweat and bad cooking. _It was hot in this room…so hot…_

_I won't go with you! I won't! I'll stay with Mom!_

_A slap. You'll come with me, if I have to drag your ass to the car!_

_Let me go!_

_She was lifted into the air. She grabbed her father by the throat. She broke his neck. An accident...she was only twelve! Her mother never forgave her for it. Battered woman are cruel to their battered children._

_Let me go!_

"LET…ME…GO!"

The woman took a strained breath and stretched her arms to the sky. Rogue opened her eyes, eyes she did not remember closing. She realized she was off the ground and face to face with the woman. She wasn't holding her ankle anymore, but the skin of her bare arm. The woman's veins bulged and withered. Her eyes died, but before they did they took one, last, fleeting, confused look at Rogue—and she crashed to the earth.

Rogue remained there, in the air, floating effortlessly. Bobby stared up at her, beckoning her downwards.

God, what a strange, horrific, beautiful feeling.

She had killed someone.

And now she could fly.

She felt euphoric and frightened.

Then the euphoria and the fear erased every other sensation and she collapsed in the air and fell to the ground beside the woman she had killed.

* * *

The Iceman had finally become distracted. Juggernaut smashed the remaining ice and got it out of his way. The police had arrived by now, brandishing all kinds of weapons. But what did he care?

He charged forward. The cops scattered like roaches in the wake of a bright light. He crushed some and merely damaged others. He tossed their cars out of his way and did not bother to see where they landed.

This was the way it was meant to be. It was the reason mutants like him existed. What could he do, but fight? What other purpose did he serve, but to war? If peace were ever achieved, or victory acquired, he would no longer be of use. His powers were not ones that should exist in times of tranquility.

He was the Juggernaut, a living, breathing weapon of mass destruction.

Pedestrians and passers-by crouched in doorways and by dumpsters. These frightened humans wanted no part in this war, but they were witnesses, and therefore served a purpose. A helicopter, no doubt loaded with reporters and cameras, hung precariously overhead, barely remaining above the tops of the buildings, beaten as they were by the storm. The whole world would see this brief battle. The whole world would respond.

The air was full of sounds, but one sound pierced through them all—Hawk gave a frightening, and glorious cry that made even Juggernaut smile to himself. The winged mutant was perched atop the white dome of City Hall, crying out in victory. The steps of City Hall were strewn with the dead, the ones who had opposed them and the ones that had merely gotten in the way. Juggernaut raced up those steps that had become the resting place for so many, mutant and human alike, and smashed his giant fist into a pillar at the top. It collapsed on impact and a roar of triumph came from those who saw it, from the Brotherhood and from the mutants who had been to come there to register—they cheered as Juggernaut took out another pillar and another. They cheered as the front part of City Hall collapsed on itself. They acclaimed the Brotherhood as they, damage done and mission complete, retreated from that place. Some of the mutants followed and joined the Brotherhood, others watched in awe.

They were heroes.

* * *

Toad leapt and landed on top of one of the police cars, crushing it and the occupants within. Weapons fired, and he dodged them. He swept his tongue out and tore their guns from their hands…or their arms from their bodies—which ever yielded first.

It was like a vicious game of leap-frog after that. Death by hopscotch. One, two, three…he jumped from head, to head, to head, crushing the bodies beneath him, leaving nothing to signify that they had ever been there at all.

The crunch was incredible, like a thousand crispy leaves on a fall day, pleasant to crush underfoot, and pleasant to hear.

Some of them were fast—he broke their necks with a quick switch of his tongue, or knocked them inside-out with a sharp kick of his leg. He felt his power and reveled in it. He smelled fire and blood, smoke and water. The rain washed away his sweat and the thunder just made him feel important somehow.

Above the thunder he heard a great, high pitched cry. Hawk flew over him and his taloned feet took hold of the dome of City Hall and he shrieked like a bird.

Toad watched as Juggernaut tore apart City Hall and he cheered and laughed, killing more cops and crushing more cars with the strange joy that the sight of this destruction rendered inside of him.

This was the way it was meant to be.

And the last thing he did before retreating with the others, as planned, was to extend his tongue to its full length and attach it to the hovering helicopter, and then, with all his might, pull it down on top of the building it straddled.

He only hoped that they had gotten that much on tape and onto the television before he had destroyed it.

* * *

She was waiting for them when they returned, with food prepared, a buffet for an army.

Well, after all, they were an army.

And the army was starving.

Few were injured and those that were could wait until after they ate. They charged for the food, talking to each other, a sense of accomplishment pervading conversation. They were a Brotherhood, as they had never before been.

When Eden saw him, she flew to him, and kissed him, long and wonderfully. Her body was warm and her heart beat so that he could hear it. "I saw you on TV," she said, biting her bottom lip.

He pressed up against her. "Yeah? Whatcha you think?"

Another long and forceful kiss was his response. She sucked on his tongue and he could taste her desire. And then she pulled away. "You must be hungry."

Toad grabbed her to himself. "I am," he murmured, pressing his lips to her neck. She pulled away again. "Eat," she said. "You're gonna need your strength."

"Oh yeah?"

Juggernaut passed by him, a huge plate of food in his huge hands. "Hey mate," he said, confidentially, but loud enough for anyone listening to hear, "you're gonna poke someone's eye out with that."

Toad smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Juggernaut laughed and a few others laughed as well. They all laughed. It was a strange, delicious feeling—

Victory.

* * *

Rogue woke up at last. Her eyes were blood shot and they had become a bright, emerald green. Bobby was near her, watching her anxiously. Storm was close by. She sat bolt upright.

"Easy, easy Rogue!" Storm said, placing her hands on her shoulders. "It's alright, you're ok."

"Who're the hell are you?" she snapped.

Bobby stood. "Rogue, it's us."

Her eyes clouded and refocused. "Bobby?" she turned. "Storm?"

"Yeah," Bobby took her hand.

"Don't touch me!" she took her hand and swiped at his face, trying to slap him. Storm held her arms back and Rogue struggled against her.

"Bobby, fasten the restraints!" she called.

Bobby did so. He fastened her feet, and her arms and she pushed against them, chafing her wrists and ankles. "Let me go, you fucking bastards! Fucking X-Men! You've got no right—"

Her eyes defocused. "What is this? Who are you?" she asked someone. "Get away from me! Go away!"

Storm and Bobby watched as Rogue murmured and yelled at herself, as if she were having a conversation with someone else. "Rogue!" Bobby called. "Rogue! It's us!"

"It's them…" Rogue whispered. "They're here. There he is." Her eyes widened as though she saw something.

Bobby burst into tears. "Storm, she's dieing!"

Storm stretched her arm out to stop him from lunging himself at her. "No, she's not! There's nothing wrong with her."

"What's happening to her?"

Storm did not answer. She watched, she listened.

"He's just like I thought he would be, older though," Rogue was speaking, "look at him! We're flying!" She became calm suddenly. "I don't know where we're going…but I want to go there. Look at him!" There was wonder in her voice, and supreme respect.

Then she screamed.

"BOBBY! HELP!"

He pushed passed Storm. "I'm here, I'm here," he cried, taking her hand. She gripped his with a bone-breaking force.

"Don't let me go! Don't let me!"

"Rogue, what's happening? What's going on?"

The green in her eyes brightened and swelled brilliantly. "She's inside of me!"

"Who?"

Rogue looked wildly at him, half mad. "She won't go away!"

"WHO? Rogue, stay with me!"

"BOBBY!" And she was gone again, screaming and pulling at the restraints, demanding to be let free.

* * *

If it's done right, there's a moment after sex…well, several moments, really…of absolute, exhausted peace. Toad had never experienced it with anyone but Eden. There were reasons for that that he didn't like to dwell on. The past was the past, and now was now…and now was fantastic.

He lay back on the bed in silence, his heart beat regulated, but every breath seemed sweet and each time each breathed, his heart beat hard again. In these moments there was nothing in world but the bed and no one in the world but them. She had been absolutely right when she'd told him he would need his strength.

He had.

"So," he said, absently, "_that_ turns you on, does it?"

"What?" she asked.

He turned his head to her. "Me on TV, killing people and destroying things?"

Eden seemed to consider this. "Yeah, I guess it does."

He leaned on his elbow while his other hand reached to her forehead, and gently moved the dampened hair aside. "I wish—" he stopped himself.

"Wish what?"

Well, now he wished he hadn't said 'I wish', but he had to continue. "I wish you could be there, with us, fighting. We would be the most incredible team."

"We would," she agreed, sadly.

"I think about it sometimes," he continued, despite his better judgment. "Me and you…kicking ass." He walked his fingers over her stomach and she smiled. "Getting in and out of tight situations." He kissed her neck. "Helping each other out. Wreaking havoc." He tickled her and she pushed him away instinctively shouting 'Stop it!' and laughing at the same time.

"I fancy you," he went on, laughing, but utterly serious, "in a skin tight, leather top, like a bikini top…your stomach's bare and your breasts," he looked down at her, "they look fantastic…it's black leather you're in and your hair is all long and down…and you're in the rain, of course, and your hair is dripping…"

"What else?" she encouraged.

"You're hair is dripping…you're whole body is…covered in water and you're eyes are sparkling…" he paused.

"What am I wearing on my legs?"

"Didn't I say?" She shook her head. "Oh, that's the best part." He sat up a little straighter and gestured with his hands, as if describing a great work of art. "Your legs are bare right to… right about here…" he put his hand on her thigh, "and you're wearing these super tight black, leather shorts…and your legs are long and the water is just trickling, trickling down them…" he ran his finger down her leg as he described this part of his fantasy. "Trickling," he repeated, and leaned in to kiss her. "Whatcha reckon?"

After a long kiss, she slithered off the bed and answered, "I may not be able to fight, but I can wear leather whenever you want."

"Mm," he hummed thoughtfully. "Hey, where you going?" She had walked away from the bed.

Eden smiled seductively, but with a certain innocence that he found irresistible. "I'm gonna take a shower." She turned the light on in the bathroom. "Wanna join me?"

"Ah, no thanks, I think I'll just chill here for a bit—yeah of course I want to!" he jumped out of bed and chased her into the shower.


	3. Chapter 3: Memories

**Chapter 3: Memories **

_…they sat in the center of the flames and it raged all around them. Everything was fire. The world was fire._

_She held him in her arms. The two of them watched the flames as they licked the blue-black dome of the sky._

_"It's beautiful," she said._

_He smiled. "Yeah…" he kissed her. "Too bad it doesn't last."_

_The rains came and the fire dwindled into nothing and she shook with cold. "What's happening?"_

_He had gotten up and started to walk away. "I told you. It doesn't last. It can't last."_

_"Don't go."_

_"Don't stay."_

_They stared at each other. The rain fell on him and he began to shake. "Come with me," he begged. And then he melted into nothing…_

"NO!"

Toad almost fell out of the bed at the sound of that scream against his extra-sensory ears. "The fuck!" he cried.

Eden sat bolt upright, reaching for something. Her eyes were wide and frightened and she was crying and shaking.

"Hey," he said, reaching for her, "you awake? Come on, you're dreaming."

He could smell the fear in her, the sadness. When he touched her, she started. Then she turned, and seemed not to recognize him. "I'm…sorry," she murmured, her body tensing, "did…I wake you?"

"Yeah, with a bloody great scream from hell. You alright?"

She swallowed, looked all around her, and pushed her hair back. "I'm a little disoriented," she said absently, "just a little—I had a bad dream."

He watched her gather herself, but the dream seemed to linger in her eyes and on her face. "Here," he said, putting his arm around her and pulling the sheet tighter about her body, "you're shaking. Let me warm you up."

She leaned into him stiffly, but without resistance. She was cold and clammy and she shook so. He kissed the top of her head. "Hey, it's alright, it's alright…I'm here."

"You're here," she repeated, as if she were reminding herself of something long forgotten. She looked up at him and touched his face. "You're here," she said again with confidence.

"Yeah," he frowned, "I'm always here for you. Always will be."

"You promise?"

"Yeah."

Eden turned away from him, began to look around again. It was early, the sun was silver-grey, coming in streaks through the hole in the wall that served as a window. She watched the sun glint of the metal and stone, then seemed to look past it, away. Her eyes wandered and the beams of light reflected in her slit black pupils. "You ok?" he asked, with concern.

Again, she seemed surprised that he was there, talking to her. She gave her head a little shake and came back to herself. "I'm sorry I woke you up," she murmured.

He stroked her hair. "It's ok." Suddenly, she reached behind her, took his hand away from her hair, brought it to her mouth, and kissed it several times. "I love you," she said.

He held her cold hand. "You can't sleep anymore, eh?" She shook her head. "Let's get some breakfast then, tea, yeah? You could use a cup a tea." She nodded. They dressed in silence and walked hand in hand to the kitchen.

* * *

Magneto sat contemplatively in front of the television. He leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms in thought. Footsteps behind him alerted him to another presence.

"You're up early," he said to Toad.

The other man shrugged. "Eden woke up."

"Ah," Magneto turned away from him. "Eden."

"Yeah, she's…in the kitchen, making breakfast. I heard the telly. Whatcha watching?"

"The news."

"Right."

"_Today in New York City, a mutant terrorist, believed to be independent of the so-proclaimed Brotherhood of Mutants, attacked the United Nations building early this morning. This attack seems to have been merely symbolic, as the UN is not and will not be convening there for some time. Seventeen people were killed, several others seriously injured."_ A video clip of the burning UN building flashed onto the screen. The damage did not seem irreparable, but it did stand out quite a bit.

Magneto smiled grimly. "It seems we have inspired our brethren to the cause," he said.

"Messy," Toad said. "Wasn't thought about. I'd of done it during the afternoon, kill more people on the street, more people in the building."

Magneto turned around. "As always Toad, you present the obvious in the most uncomplicated manner."

Toad tilted his head to one side, confused as to how to receive this comment. Was it a compliment, or an insult? He gave it a moment's thought, and continued, "Who do you think did it? Anyone we know?"

"_A single mutant, believed to have been involved in these attacks, was shot at the scene by an off-duty police officer. He remains in the hospital. His condition is critical."_ The police officer in question appeared on the screen saying, "_I was just having a cup of coffee. I heard the explosion. I saw this guy, standing there, watching the building. He had—well, it looked like he had—like, a ball of fire in…in his hand. I told him not to move. He ran. I shot."_ The policeman shrugged. "_I've heard of these mutants who can control fire. Thought he might be one of them."_

The TV anchor went on. "_Whether this attack was done by a single mutant, or a group, is unknown. Senator James Duro, of South Carolina, who, you will recall, was the primary catalyst in the passing of the new Mutant Registration Law, had this to say of this morning's incident." _

"Ah, the good Senator," Magneto mused, "remind you of anyone?"

Toad grinned mischievously, but said nothing.

"_I think this attack, like the one at City Hall last week,"_ said the Senator, "_is just a further example of why it was necessary to pass the new Mutant Registration Law. We need to know who these mutants are, where they are, we need to know their powers. Anyone who voted against the Mutant Registration Law must see now that their vote was in error, and if they don't, I can't imagine what dream world they're living in. Thankfully, the majority of us live in the real world and we're well on our way to controlling this mutant problem."_

"Hm, what do you think of him Toad?"

"I think he'd look good plastered into the pavement."

Magneto laughed. He reached for the remote control to turn the television off, when the news anchor suddenly announced, "_This is just in. We have footage from a security camera of the mutant terrorist just before the attack."_ The footage was on the screen. The mutant opened his hand. There was fire in it. It grew larger and then, became a projectile and the camera shorted out. They showed it again, slowed it down, and zoomed in. They had the face of the mutant frozen on the screen. "_And there he is,"_ said the anchor, "_the terrorist."_

"Oh my…" Magneto whispered.

"What?"

"It's—"

"Pyro…"

Both men turned and saw Eden in the doorway. She walked up to the back of the couch. "It's Pyro," she said.

"Who's Pyro?"

Eden ignored Toad. "They said he was in the hospital?" she asked, her voice high with concern, "critical? Is he going to die?"

Magneto shook his head. "They didn't specify where he was shot, or how many times."

"We have to get him out of there!"

"Eden—"

"Who's Pyro?"

"Sir, please," Eden begged, "we have to. They'll put him in prison. We can't, I know what he did, but we can't!"

"What did he do? Who's Pyro?"

Magneto stood up and turned off the television. Eden flinched, as if he had executed Pyro himself by making his image disappear from the screen. "Eden, I understand your concern, but Pyro made a choice. He betrayed us—"

"We betrayed Pyro!" she argued. Then she stopped herself. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, suddenly afraid. "I'm sorry."

"Eden," Magneto was stern, "Pyro is not our concern…he's not one of us anymore."

"Like Mystique?"

Magneto's voice caught in his throat at her words and Eden looked horrified. Terror and shame shadowed her features and her hands clamped over her mouth, as though she were not in control of her own words.

Her eyes were wide and her whole body tensed. Never in the years he had known her, since the day he had found her and taken her in—never had she ever said anything so scathing and so disagreeably cruel. It stopped the conversation. It stopped all possible activity but her turning around suddenly, unable to apologize, and racing out of that room in terror.

If there was anything Magneto depended on, it was her loyalty—her unabashed, unquestioning loyalty. And now it wavered. With those two, simple words, her loyalty wavered like an uncertain storm. And that cut him, so strangely and deeply and so apparent on the surface, that Toad was also speechless and immobile. He stood there, dumb, with his hands in his pockets and his mouth slightly open and his eyes on Magneto.

Magneto turned as abruptly and unapologetically as Eden had and somewhere past the deafening roar of uncertainty that echoed in his ears, he thought he heard Toad mutter behind him…

"Who the bloody hell is Pyro?!"

_

* * *

I changed today_

_And still may._

_My mind is not my own._

_I've changed so much, I've grown_

_beyond myself, my mind_

_and now I'm two of a kind._

_Beneath me all the rage,_

_Above me steel-like cage,_

_Inside me, I can't say._

_Oh, but I changed…I changed today…_

* * *

How could he find her in the trees?

He hated when she hid in the trees.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Sometimes, he loved it when she hid in the trees. Those times, it was worth the wait to find her, to chase her...and finally, to catch her. But this was not one of those times.

"EDEN!" he called. "Dammit, come down!"

No answer.

He sighed. "EDEN!" His own voice called her name back to him.

He heard something land softly behind him. "Ede—oh," he was disappointed. "What do you want?"

Hawk smiled. "I know where she is," he said. "You want me to tell you?"

Toad sighed. "Actually, yeah, this time I do."

Hawk looked disappointed. "Not playing a game today?"

"Not today."

"Too bad," he said in his thick, Middle Eastern accent, stroking his pointed black goatee, "she picked a really good spot this time." Without waiting for Toad's reply, he spread his big brown wings and ascended into the sky. Toad watched as his blurrying image flew and then hovered over a particular tree. He leapt from where he was towards that tree and as it zoomed into focus, he quickly pinpointed a perch.

Eden was just above him.

"Who's Pyro?" he asked.

_

* * *

Burn, burn, burn_

_Memories churn_

_Burn, burn, burn_

_It's your turn_

_Your turn, your turn_

_To learn_

_and burn, burn, burn…_

* * *

They had left the tree and were walking aimlessly through the forest. He had heard the whole story and was determined to make her see his point. "We can't just go rescue somebody who may or may not be on our side. Eden!"

Toad took her arm and turned her forcibly around. "Listen to me, Magneto knows what to do. You shouldn't have talked to 'im like that."

Eden sighed. "I know that. I don't know what to do," she said helplessly.

"Apologize to him. He'll forgive you."

"No," she tried to explain, "I meant what I said…I don't _want_ to mean it…but I do." She groaned in exasperation. "Pyro _is_ one of us."

"Not from what you've told me. Not from what I've heard. He sounds like a sodding traitor."

Her eyes flashed with anger. The look loosened his grip on her arm. He had never seen a look like that in her eyes before. But her reply was quiet, "You don't know him."

Toad looked skeptically at her. "Do you?"

He never received an answer from her. Because at that moment, someone fell out of the sky and landed at his feet, in between them.

They both jumped back defensively and in different directions. Toad crouched low to the ground and Eden backed up against a tree.

The person on the ground was not dead, but they did not move for some time. "Hey, get up," Toad ordered, "who the hell are you?"

The person tensed at the sound of another's voice and lifted themselves off the ground into a sitting position.

The woman had long brown hair and her eyes were wide and frightened. On each side of her hair in the front there were long, white stripes that outlined her terrified countenance. Toad did not recognize her, but when the girl turned around to look behind her, Eden did.

"Rogue?"

The girl tensed more and examined her hands and body. She had no jacket on, for all it was cold and freezing outside. Her hands were tight and red with the cold and smeared with dirt from the fall. The rest of her body was shivering and thin and also bore its share of leaves and dirt from the ground. "Where am I?" she whispered shakily. "Where am I!"

Her voice rose to a terrified pitch. She did not seem to know what had happened, that she had just fallen out of nowhere, and conveniently landed on the outskirts of the Brotherhood's homebase. She had the look of someone who had just awakened from a nightmare…only to find that the nightmare was real.

"_Rogue?_" Toad looked at Eden. "_That_ Rogue! We didn't kill her!" he exclaimed. Then he turned his gaze to the girl. "I'll fix that."

He made a move to approach her but Eden stopped him. "No," she said, "no wait." And he waited.

The girl, Rogue, looked around her desperately. The forest, the sky, reflected in her wild, tear-filled eyes and she clawed at the dirt and looked half-mad. Toad crouched level with her and watched her with some amusement, but with more incredulity. How had she gotten here? Where had she come from? And more important than anything else, why was she here?

Eden, with a small smile and a frown of concern, knelt down next to Rogue and touched her shoulder, careful to avoid bare skin. "Rogue?"

Rogue never looked at Eden, but she flinched at her touch and said, "Eden. I remember."

Eden looked back at Toad with a confused expression, then back at Rogue. "How do you know my name, Rogue?" she asked gently.

Rogue's eyes flashed liked lightning and changed color. "_She_ knows your name—knew your name. I don't know—what I'm saying, I don't know. Who's speaking?" she looked around her again, like she heard another voice somewhere, but she was the only one talking. "You," she said to Eden, looking past her, "you bit me. You put me to sleep!" She paused. "You…you," her eyes changed again, "you…sewed up a cut on my arm." She grabbed her own arm and looked at it. "No!" she cried. "No, not _my_ arm! Her arm!"

All of sudden, the madness she was drowning in seemed to lift, if only for a moment. Her eyes focused on Eden, bored into her, and she managed to say, "Help me!" She wrung her hands and clutched her hair and pressed the heels of her hands against her temples. "Take it back!"

Eden stood up and looked down at Rogue. Once again, the girl slipped away, rocking and muttering to herself incoherently.

It was no longer funny.

"Kill her!" Toad hissed.

Eden considered this, never looking at him, only at the girl. "How did she get here?" she mused in some amazement.

"We flew!" Rogue's head jumped up suddenly. "We flew!" she cried.

"She _is_ flying," Toad muttered.

Eden didn't hear him. "Flew?" she asked.

Rogue looked confused again. "_She_ flew…"she corrected herself. "I…flew?"

She pulled harder at her hair. Eden covered her own hands with her shirt sleeves and grabbed hold of Rogue's bare wrists and held them. "Rogue. How did you know where we were?" she asked in a low, pointed tone.

Rogue's wild eyes grew wilder still. "I didn't! I don't—where I am—here—home—let me—give it back!"

She pulled herself out of Eden's grip and folded into herself, wrapping her bare, shivering arms around her waist, heaving and whimpering, and rocking back and forth. "She's so sad," Rogue moaned.

Eden contemplated the pathetic figure for a moment, and a look of pity flashed over her features. Toad rose and took her arm. "We can't keep her," he said, as if regarding some kind of stray cat in the street. "Just kill her. She's mad anyway."

"She's not mad," Eden was pulled out of her reverie. She moved away from Toad and took Rogue by the shoulders, and eased her to her feet. The girl had begun to hyperventilate and was not visibly aware that she was moving at all.

Toad watched in disbelief as Eden passed him, supporting Rogue with what strength she possessed. He shook his head, but followed nonetheless, and being the kind of man he thought he was, he caught up with them, lifted Rogue off the ground and carried her, fireman style, to the Lair.

Eden did not look at him, but she smiled a cool, sarcastic grin. He looked forward and shrugged, "You never would have made it all the way."

* * *

She screamed—writhed—seizured and shook.

"SHE'S KILLING ME! SHE'S KILLING ME! LET GO! STOP!"

Sweat poured off of her in washes. Every muscle in her body tightened and she raised her arms to the ceiling. Her veins bulged.

Magneto watched casually, but cautiously. "I'm inclined to agree with you," he rumbled. "But how do you think it happened?"

Eden crossed her arms in a similar way that Magneto did, a trait she had unknowingly copied from the man. "She can take people's powers, but its always temporary. She's never killed anyone, as far as we know. So maybe, when she kills someone, she absorbs them longer—maybe permanently."

"That's quite a theory."

"It's the only one that makes sense."

Seeing these two now, one would never suspect the argument that they had had earlier. That they were, in fact, not quite sure of one another at that moment. Neither was angry at the other, but each was wondering if the other was mad at them. Each was wondering if they had, by their own volition, destroyed the relationship they had with each other.

Eden continued, "I think she's reliving Marvel's death," she mused thoughtfully, " 'she's killing me', 'let me go.'" She turned to the others. "Cain said that she held on to Marvel until she died."

The screaming stopped abruptly, as if someone had flipped a switch. Rogue lay motionless on the floor of the Lair. Her eyes were wide open and still.

"Is she dead?" Toad asked, with some hope.

Eden knelt on the floor, hid her fingers in her sleeve again, and pressed them against Rogue's neck. "No."


	4. Chapter 4: Sleep

**Chapter 4: Sleep **

No one wanted to touch her.

They were afraid. Afraid that if they moved her, she might move, become conscious and touch them.

They feared her touch.

Her touch was death.

Rogue lay as still as death, but was still alive. Her eyes would not close, but no one was brave enough to close them for her.

Her hands rested, one near her head, the other by her side, and her legs were stretched straight.

She could not move. Her eyes were fixed in one place.

But she was conscious, and she could not sleep. They talked all around her, about her and she heard them, though they thought her gone. She heard their words, and feared them.

When they were gone, only one remained.

This one covered her with a blanket and sat by her side. This one tried to adjust her arms, but it was as if Rogue were made of stone.

This one spoke to her, reminded Rogue of her own name.

And this one's name was Eden.

_

* * *

I lie in darkness_

_And see everything_

_Their words ride around me_

_The tears only sting_

_My heart is a statue_

_My body a tomb_

_And the words pace about me_

"_kill her…kill her soon…"_

_Oh kill her, kill her_

_I do agree_

…_but when you kill her…_

_Don't kill me._

* * *

"This is incredibly disturbing."

Eden looked up at Quicksilver, who stood over Rogue, his hands at his hips. "She can hear you, you know," she said.

Quicksilver raised a snow white eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

Eden shrugged and did not answer.

Quicksilver sat down across from her, Indian style, rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "How long's she been like this?"

"This is day two," Eden replied. The girl lay in between them like a bizarre centerpiece.

"Who is she?"

"She's a mutant. From the X-Men."

"Oh." The boy tilted his head to one side. "She's kinda pretty."

A nod was his reply.

"Why're you…just sitting here?" he asked her.

"I don't think she should be alone," Eden answered.

He frowned. "Aren't we…you know, gonna…kill her?"

"No. Not yet."

"Oh."

The Lair sounded hollow and smelled damp. It was raining outside and it was cold inside. Quicksilver could see the breezes flitting about the room and saw the lightning flashes almost before they flashed. The deep, cavernous room blazed in momentary magic with electric blue glows. It changed the color of Eden's face and put sparkles in her eyes that made her seem more animalistic.

He wondered about her as he watched her for what was probably a mere moment to her, but an age to him. He imagined her past…constructed in his mind a probable background for her. Abandoned by her parents, experimented on by mad scientists, perhaps and then, Magneto finds her…takes her in…and then she…well…

"Why _are_ you here?" he asked, as his stream of consciousness came to an impasse.

"I told you, I don't want her to be alone."

"No, no, no. Not here, I mean _here_. This place. With the Brotherhood. Why are you here?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Don't know. Conversation?"

Eden eyed him with skepticism. "I'm here," she began, "because I want to be here. Because I…," she had a far away look in her eyes, "I love Magneto."

Quicksilver tucked his knees up under his chin and wrapped his arms around his thin, muscular legs. "Magneto's like…like…Patton, or something. You know?"

Eden's mouth spread into a gentle, amused smile. The lighting touched her eyes again and made them shine. "_Where_ did you come from?" she laughed.

He felt his face change, though he hadn't meant it to. He didn't think she had seen it, but when his face had changed, hers had as well. And immediately, she seemed sad. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to," she said.

Quicksilver gave her a fake, bright smile. "Not really interesting," he said.

Eden looked at him and there was sympathy in her eyes. She gestured to Rogue. "You see her?" He nodded. "She's all alone. Or at least, she thinks she is. But that's why I'm here, so that when she wakes up, she won't be by herself." Then she looked up at him. "We're all alone, Pietro. And that's what's bringing us together. So, even though we're alone, we're _not_ alone."

Quicksilver rocked himself like a chair, and he knew how childish this activity made him look, how young. That didn't stop him, but he was aware of how he must have appeared.

"Called me 'Pietro,'" he murmured.

She frowned. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"It's cool," he replied, "sounds like a nice name when you say it."

"It is," she agreed. "But, it isn't your name, not your real name."

"Juggernaut calls you Jaida," he said.

"Well, that's the name he knew me by…before I was Eden…"

"That like, Garden of Eden? Like the Bible?" He grinned. "Are you paradise?"

She laughed. "No. My whole name is Serpent of Eden."

"So…you're Satan?"

"Yeah. You didn't know?"

"Man! Nobody tells me anything around here!" he said in mock frustration. They both laughed together.

When it subsided, he found himself staring at her again. The lightning made everything mysterious and cool. Her skin had a white sheen to it and the light glinted ever so slightly off the tips of her pointed teeth.

"How long is your tongue?" he asked suddenly, almost without thinking.

"Not as long as Toad's," she answered slyly.

"How long is his?"

She raised one eyebrow. "You're tired, aren't you?"

Her question was unexpected. "What?"

"You want to sleep."

He suppressed a yawn. "Don't get tired. Well, that is, I don't really sleep…sometimes I sleep…but it's hard. I don't know." He pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Slept last week," he said optimistically. "S'gotta count for something."

She stood up. "Lie down on the couch," she directed.

"Um…ok…"

He was on the couch in a millisecond. He lay flat on his back. She walked over to him and picked up a pillow. "Pick up your head." He did so and she pushed the pillow underneath. He nestled into it, quite comfortably.

"What now?"

"Do you trust me?"

Quicksilver narrowed his ice blue eyes. "Trust you?" He thought about it. "Yeah."

"Ok," Eden said. "Face the couch." He faced the couch. "This won't hurt."

"What won't—" And he felt it. Warm breath on his neck, and moist lips. A painless pinch on his throat and then…

Nothing at all.

* * *

Eden jolted awake. Her head sprang up at the sound of a _thwump_ at her right side. She looked and saw a pillow and near the pillow, bare green feet.

"Hey," she greeted quietly.

Toad looked down at her. He had another pillow under one arm and a blanket over the other. "It's boring in our room," he said, in an offhand kind of way, "and I thought you might be cold."

"I thought you were mad at me."

He did not immediately deny this notion, but said, "I think this is fucking stupid," he crouched to her level, "but I can't be mad at your for it."

Eden looked at him very seriously. She so wanted him to understand. "When Magneto brought me here, I remember Mystique telling him that I didn't belong, that, because I was so weak, I was useless to the cause. And," she added pointedly, "I remember you and Sabretooth finally having something in common—making fun of me." Toad winced, as if the comment caused him pain, but said nothing. "Magneto cared for me…and helped me. I needed him. I still need him. And I'm only doing for Rogue what he did for me."

Toad considered this, looking away at nothing. His violet green eyes caught the last flash of lightning and it made them look like tiny black lights. His was a face that told a thousand stories—each one painful, and each one the same. It was all hate and joy—love played a part, and disappointment a larger part. But desire, pain, rage—those were the lines in his forehead, the corners of his mouth—discontentment was etched into every scar. And the need to be loved, to be needed, were the shadows in his eyes and the madness that lurked behind those heart-shaped pupils was never far beneath the surface.

She knew all of this—she loved all of this. He was all of her, and she was all of him. His madness was her madness; his sanity, her strength; his rage raged in her and his pain ached in her heart.

He spoke. "That day," he began, his voice low, "why did you—" he paused and opened and closed his hands, flexing his fingers, "I mean…you just looked at me—and I never understood—you never told me—why. Why you looked at me like that…I just came to the pools and you were there. Waiting for me. I never knew why. Never got the chance to ask." He looked up at her at last.

Eden slid over to him and rested her hands on his knees, leaning up to his face. "You never knew?" she laughed quietly, "Toad—everything about you—everything—your voice," she touched his lips, "your hair," she caressed his hair, "the way your clothes hang on you—your beautiful eyes—"

"Oh, yeah, my beautiful eyes that can't see a fucking thing," he scoffed.

"I even think those ridiculous goggles are hot."

"You're an idiot."

She kissed him to shut him up. "Toad, do you remember that chain mail vest I made for you?"

"Yeah. I lost it that night at Liberty Island. I loved that thing. Why _did_ you make me that?" The thought had never occurred to him before. He had taken it without question. Eden was always making things. She made Magneto's cape and some of Sabretooth's clothes. He had always taken anything she made for granted.

Eden bit her lip sheepishly. "I just—always fancied you in chain mail," she admitted with some embarrassment, "like…my dark knight."

"You _fancied_ me in chain mail?" he laughed. "I'm making a Brit out of you yet."

They laughed together and Toad ran his fingers gently, possessively through her hair. "Your dark knight, eh? I kinda like the sound of that."

She grinned. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He leaned in and kissed her, laughing as he did so. She held him and let him press her to the floor against the pillows. Without releasing her, he felt around for the blanket he had brought, found it and whipped it up and over them like a tent.

She giggled. He kissed and licked her ravenously and she could hear his heart beat faster and felt his body pulse against hers.

And then Rogue screamed.

* * *

Quicksilver awoke with such a start that he fell off the couch. And from under a blanket on the floor he heard a growling sigh, followed by, "_Oh! Come ON!"_

The screaming continued. The blanket was yanked back. Toad emerged, angry and tousle-haired. Eden slid out from under him and quickly reached Rogue.

He couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. It did not seem as though they had gotten very far before Rogue had interrupted them. He laughed out loud. Toad gave him a death stare.

"Shut up, you fucking fairy," he shouted.

Quicksilver stopped immediately. "I'm not a fairy."

"Both of you shut up!"

They did. Eden grabbed Rogue's shoulders and shook her. The girl's face was as tight as a painter's canvas, so tight that her veins bulged white. "You shut up too! You'll wake everyone up! Be quiet!"

Quicksilver was as surprised as Toad appeared to be when the girl actually obeyed. She stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Eden, but she was silent. She shook, shuddered, barely able to breathe. Quicksilver could see every spasm, and count every goose bump on her skin and each capillary that surfaced, red-blue, against the sheer white.

"Hey," Eden said more gently, "can you hear me? Do you understand?"

A slow, aching nod was her reply. The action itself seemed painful.

"Would you like to sleep?"

Rogue's eyes flushed with desperation. The nod was more vigorous this time, but no less ponderous.

"Tell me your name," Eden commanded, "can you do that?"

Rogue looked all around her, as if searching for the answer. Her eyes fluttered over everything in the room, and over Toad and Quicksilver. Then, she looked down, at her knees against the floor, and then up to Eden's hands on her shoulders. It came to her at last. "Rogue," she blurted out, all her energy amassed in that one word, her name.

"Good," Eden said quietly. "Now close your eyes." She did so without hesitation, pausing only once to look into Eden's eyes, as if for the last time. Eden took hold of the blanket, pressed a corner of it to Rogue's neck and bit through it, avoiding skin to skin contact. Rogue collapsed almost immediately, and Eden eased her gently to the floor. She covered Rogue with the blanket, and turned to Toad.

"Will you carry her to the medical room?" she asked.

Everything in Toad's face said 'No.' Quicksilver could read each flick, each momentary twitch of his eyes and lips. His face said 'No.' But Toad, himself, said nothing, just walked over to Rogue, bound her tightly in the blanket, picked her up and left the room, shaking his head.

Eden turned to Quicksilver. "Will you go with him? Tell him I'll meet him by the pools soon."

"Where're _you_ going?"

"Just tell him that, will you?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Sure."

* * *

He wasn't reading the book. He had it opened, on his lap and his eyes were resting on the open pages, but he wasn't reading it. His index finger rested on a random word, and there it stayed.

It was late—or early…really both.

Magneto had begun to read, because he could not sleep. And now, he sat thinking because he could not read. He had been sitting, thinking, for a long time now. He may have nodded off at one point or another, but he did not remember.

"How long are you going to stay up there?" he finally called out.

At first there was no answer, but then a gentle sliding sound came from across the room, as Eden slid from the high window ledge to the floor. He could see her feet just above the page, one still timidly pressed against the wall, her arms clasped behind her shyly.

"Is it…too late to apologize to you?" she asked quietly.

Magneto closed the book and set it beside him. "Apologize for what, my dear?"

"For what I said…the other day."

He gave her a kind of half-smile. "Oh, that. It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?" she said. "What I said was terrible."

He stood up and shrugged. "Perhaps, but not untrue." He looked at her. "I have always asked you to be truthful with me."

She took a step forward. "But I was cruel," she argued.

Magneto chuckled slightly. "Eden, do you _want_ me to be angry with you?"

"No."

"Well then," he turned from her and walked towards his bedroom, "let's forget about the whole thing."

Eden followed him from his office into his room and stood in the doorway. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked around him.

"You miss her, don't you? Mystique."

He looked up at her. "Yes. I suppose I do."

She walked over to him and sat down at his side. "Do you—" She stopped, looked away, biting her lip. "Do you want me to stay with you? I don't want you to be alone."

"No," he lied, "you should be with Toad."

Eden looked up at him, those mysterious eyes. "I'll stay with you, if you want." Then she added, almost inaudibly, "I want to."

"How can you?" he asked her, suddenly. "You who know, more than anyone, how I have betrayed those closest to me. How can you honestly want to stay here with me?"

The answer came, preceded by a sigh. Eden looked up at the ceiling for a moment and then said, "Sir…there are those that are loyal—and those that others are loyal to. If we all disappeared, and you remained, our cause would survive—and if you died and we remained, our cause would die with you." She looked right into him. "_You_ are more than we are."

"You believe that?"

"I do," she said. "And so do you."

"Eden—"

"It's alright," she stopped him. "You need to believe it. You have to. Not only because it's true, but because it _needs_ to be true. You have to be who you are, what you are—if you were less than that, we would all—we wouldn't all be here and there would be nothing to fight for. No one to follow. I believe there are two kinds of people in this world—leaders and followers. The followers need a leader—but the leader can survive without the followers." She put a hand on his arm. "And so…there you are."

"Do you love me, Eden?" He didn't know why he'd asked it, if the question had been burning in him or if it was just a sudden whim. But, he had a desire to know, just then, at that moment. Her words moved him—but they were just words.

"I love you more than anyone in the world," she answered without hesitating.

He leaned back a bit. "Not more than anyone in the world."

Her eyes remained serious. "Yes. More than Toad. And he loves you more than me."

"Now that is the first thing you've said that is wholly untrue."

"No," she contended, "it's the way it should be."

She was serious, and he believed her, as he always did. Her face was taut with truthfulness, it made her look older—sadder somehow, than her usually light expression. No, that wasn't true—she was always sad somehow, and so beautiful because of it—she held the world in her mind and contemplated it daily. The universe sparkled in her slit snake eyes.

His hand found her hair and he ran his fingers through it, examining her face, his mind filled with strange thoughts. He wanted something, suddenly, something he had no right to ask for, and yet he felt entitled to it—but at the same time, undeserving. "Eden," he closed his hand over her hand and sighed, shaking his head, "would you kiss me?"

She kissed him. He tasted salt tears on her warm silk lips. Her forked tongue was soft and wet and gentle.

It lasted for an eternal moment. He pulled away. "Good night, Eden."

"Good night sir."

She kissed his hand before she left.

* * *

Eden walked out of the office and to the kitchen. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of vodka. She put some in a glass and put the glass to her lips and swished some of the vodka around in her mouth. Then she spit it out.

She then put her fingers in the glass and rubbed the vodka over her lips and chin and just above her upper lip.

She swished the remaining liquid once more in her mouth, spat, and rinsed out the glass.

Make no mistake, Eden was not confusing vodka with Listerine. This was merely a precautionary measure. She knew that it was possible for Toad's heightened senses to catch a change in the taste of her kiss.

So, she rinsed out the taste of Magneto, and spat it down the drain.

* * *

"Where've you been?" Toad crouched at the edge of the pool. "I've been waiting for you."

Eden sat beside him, legs crossed. She smiled and passed him a bottle of vodka.

"Oh," he said bemusedly, "it's gonna be one of those nights." He took the bottle and drank nearly half of it before putting it down. "Where were you?"

"With Magneto."

He started. "With Magneto?" he repeated.

"Yes." It was something in the way she had said it that made him wonder.

She noticed his concern and smiled, taking a swig of vodka. "Don't worry," she reassured him, "you don't have to share the woman you fuck."

He reddened. "Oh," Toad put his face in his hands, "shit. You heard that?" he asked, looking between his fingers."

"Yeah—it was four years ago, but I remember."

"Fuck…" he muttered. "Well, you know…Mystique was doing 'em both," he rose to his own defense, "and I just—you know," he paused, "I can't share you. I don't share." She looked away. He had to know. "Ede…would you?"

"Yes," she answered, without reluctance, "I would do anything for Magneto. And so would you."

"I wouldn't sleep with him!" He heard his own words and laughed at their absurdity and she laughed with him.

"Well maybe not anything," she smiled.

The mirth died away.

"Would you really?"

"Yes."

He looked away from her, along the edge of the pool. The water was a dark blur. Everything was dark blur. His mind was a dark blur. "Do you love him more than me?"

"I'm in love with you."

He reached and touched her. He had to accept this answer. If he pressured her, she just might tell him the truth.

"We're here for something more than that, though, Toad. More than love."

Eden was too deep, too mysterious sometimes. Now and then, he wished he could go with her to those other levels of thinking and feeling. But he didn't know if he wanted to go where there was something more to life that simply loving or hating, killing or being killed. He wasn't even sure if he believed in God.

So he stayed where he was. He did what he could—he loved her and hated all the world and was prepared to do anything to keep them both alive—

And whether or not there was a deeper meaning to it all—he knew, as well as she did, that above all other things, Magneto must survive.

Maybe that was what she was trying to tell him.

And after everything, when she lay sleeping in his arms, and he lay awake—he knew without a doubt that she loved Magneto more—and he knew, in his soul, which one he would choose if he had to.


	5. Chapter 5: Matches

**Chapter 5: Matches**

When Rogue awoke the next morning, she was alone. The bed was warm, and for the briefest of brief moments, she knew nothing but the covers and the sun and how comfortable she was.

Then, like a gun shot, everything came back.

Her mind was so scrambled. So little made sense…so little fit together. And there was a feeling like she had a rock in her stomach, and a fist on her heart, that seized and seized her, refusing to let go.

But…Marvel knew where to go…where their would be other people. Rogue gave in to the instinct that was not hers, and walked from what Marvel knew to be the hospital wing, to what she knew to be the kitchen.

As if she were being pushed along against her will, Rogue absently made her way down a long, stony passage, around a corner, passed a room with a couch and a television…and found a kitchen.

When she sat down, she was herself again, and could not remember where she was or how she had gotten there.

Marvel knew and told her.

Rogue gave her head a shake. "Get out of my head…"

_Let go of my leg…_

"I can't now…it's too late…"

_Then I'm not going anywhere._

"Rogue?"

Rogue blinked as if from a dream. Eden stood before her, her head tilted in a curious manner. "Hi," Rogue answered.

"Want something to eat?"

Marvel's voice disappeared. Rogue was Rogue…and she was hungry. "Yeah…" she murmured. "What happened to me? What's happening to me?"

Eden had her back to her. "I don't really know. Tea? Coffee?"

"What?"

Eden faced her. "Tea or coffee?"

_Tea!_

"Coffee!" Rogue declared. "Coffee…please…" she repeated more quietly. "She…she wants tea…"

"Who wants tea?"

Her eyes watered. "I don't know…Marvel, I think."

Eden nodded and returned to what she was doing. This reaction made Rogue wonder. "You don't think that's crazy?" she asked.

"Think what's crazy? That you absorbed the powers of a mutant permanently when you killed her…and that now, her memories are floating around inside your head because of it?" Eden laughed. "No, I don't think you're crazy."

She felt crazy. Everything about this was crazy—her presence here, what she had done, a member of the Brotherhood making her breakfast—it was all rather bizarre. Rogue jumped when the toast emerged with a ding. Something about it made her laugh. And it was Rogue laughing, not Marvel.

"What?" Eden asked, buttering it, and handing it to her on a plate.

"I just…I never pictured the Brotherhood…" she trailed off.

Eden smirked. "Pictured the Brotherhood what? Eating?" she laughed. "We eat. We drink, too. We occasionally bathe and use the toilet as well and," she added, smiling, "we have lots and lots of sex."

She handed Rogue the coffee, and Rogue took it sheepishly. "Thanks," she said. She sipped it…half of her liked the taste, the other half abhorred it.

Eden sat across from her, eating toast, and drinking a steaming cup of tea. The steam rose and made her skin glisten and it wavered in her slit-pupil eyes. "You think you're here to stay?" she asked lightly.

"Do I have a choice?"

Eden nodded. "There's always a choice, Rogue." Rogue looked away from her. The other woman sighed. "I don't really know what's happening to you…but I do know that you're here now and I think you should take the opportunity to…assess your situation and eventually come to some kind of decision. Magneto has left you in my care. I'm here for whatever you need."

Rogue felt a jolt of anger. "Magneto? He tried to kill me."

"Yes," Eden answered, "but it wasn't personal, you know. You just had something we needed."

"What's the difference now?"

Eden swallowed her tea. "No difference," she replied, "you still have something we could use—skills, powers that would help our cause. And, on top that, we have something you need."

"What's that?"

"People that can understand you. That can help you."

Rogue shook her head. "You can't understand."

"Rogue," Eden smiled, "you're wrong about that. Almost everybody here was crazy at one time in their lives—some of us still are."

A sudden gush of air flew into the room and with it, the white haired boy Rogue recognized as the one who had taken her phone. "Magneto wants you." He noticed Rogue for the first time. "Oh snap!" he cried. "Hey sleepin' beauty." And he disappeared.

Rogue frowned, looking at Eden, who shrugged. "Welcome to the Brotherhood."

_

* * *

Fire burns_

_Ashes remain_

_Evidence of_

_The human pain_

_I remember_

_You do too_

_But we won't say_

_What we do_

_No we won't say_

_Unless they ask us to…_

_Then we'll lie_

_And lie again_

_And lie together_

_In human sin_

_Break the hearts_

_Our own and theirs_

_And when it starts_

_We're beyond repairs_

_Yes when it starts_

_The dream tears…_

* * *

Two weeks ago, Magneto had summoned Eden to his office. With her, Hawk and Toad had also been called.

And they were given an assignment.

Eden was glad she could be used in a mission. Toad was excited, not visibly, of course, that he would be able to work with her. (She didn't have time to make the leather suit, however, which somewhat disappointed him.) Hawk was indifferent, but glad, at the same time, to be able to get off the island.

The three of them would take the boat to the mainland when it was dark. From there, they would proceed in different directions to the hospital that was holding the mutant called Pyro.

Pyro was in critical condition. So they waited two full weeks. If he had died, there would have been little point in rescuing him. He did not die, however; in fact, he was recovering. The time had come at last.

Neither Hawk nor Toad could figure out why Magneto had changed his mind so suddenly and decided to save the guy after all.

But Eden thought she knew.

* * *

The automated front doors of the hospital rotated open. A woman with green skin and obviously long black hair, though it was pinned up with those Chinese hair sticks, entered through them. She was short, but long somehow, slender and would have been attractive, if she were human.

Still, she turned a few heads—including the head of Security Guard Paul Leer, who sat, lumpy and large, behind the front desk. He stood when she came in and walked around the desk.

"I have to search you," he announced gruffly.

She nodded. "Sure." She raised her thin, green arms into a T shape and he patted her down.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked, his hands on her jean pockets. He pulled out a lighter from one pocket and a pack of cigarettes from the other.

The woman smiled. "Bad habit," she answered. "I know, you visit a hospital where people are dieing, and then you go outside and start killing yourself. I'm trying to quit."

"You can start today. I have to keep these." She nodded. Leer eyed her closely. She had nothing else on her but the lighter and the cigarettes. "No purse?" he said.

"I don't carry one. I'm just here to see a friend and I've got a couple bucks for the bus. That's all I need."

"What about your Mutant Registration Card?" Every mutant that walked into that hospital had to be IDed, on account of the new and volatile mutant recuperating in the security wing.

The green woman pulled an ID card from her back pocket and presented it to Leer. He examined it. It was wrinkled and bent from being sat on, but her picture was there, as well as the necessary information concerning her abilities.

"So, you can climb walls?" he commented needlessly.

She nodded.

He gave her a condescending, and what he thought to be, an intimidating look. He handed her the card and sat down at his desk. "Who're you here to see?" he asked.

"I don't know what room she's in," the woman answered. "Her name is Sylvia Walsh."

The name came up on the screen. "She's in ICU. Second floor."

"She was just in car accident," the woman assented.

Leer curled the edge of his mouth. "Right," he said. He tapped the clip board on the desk. "Sign your name here." She did so. "And wear this." He wrote her out a pass that had a sticker on the back. She attached it to her shirt.

"Can I go now?"

"Yeah, you can go."

He watched her walk away. She was well-formed and a pleasure to examine. She reached the elevators, pushed the button, and adjusted the sticks in her hair.

And Paul Leer turned back to the Sports Section in the Post and thought no more about her.

* * *

Eden did not go to the second floor, or even the third or forth. She went up to seventh and entered the security wing.

There was nobody by the elevators. Eden scaled the wall and lay flat on the high ceiling above the double doors. She was there for ten minutes before somebody finally opened them. On the other side of the doors, Eden slid along the ceiling soundlessly and without effort. She passed several rooms, and at last found one that was doubled locked, with a single, very bored looking police officer outside of it.

He was not aware of her presence on the ceiling. And he never became aware of it. She had lowered herself behind him and sunk her teeth into his neck before he had finished yawning.

There was no one on this floor that did not have to be. So, when the cop went down, no one saw him fall. But there were cameras in this wing, and if someone was not aware of her presence now, they would be soon enough.

Eden lifted a set of keys off of the police officer and tried several of them before she found the one that opened the door. The latch lifted and she entered.

She closed the door behind her and locked it again. "Pyro?"

Eden approached the bed. There he was, watching her, his eyes wide with surprise and his mouth slightly open. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out of here. Come on."

She reached to take out his IV, but he stopped her. "You're by yourself? You left him?"

Eden raised her eyes to his. "He sent me."

Pyro's face brightened for a moment. "Magneto sent you?" he asked, speaking barely above a whisper. But then he grew cold again. "Tell him I sent you back. I don't need his help."

And she slapped him. Hard, quick and fast across the face, the anger in her welling up beyond her control. "You shut up," she hissed, "he's forgiven you for your treachery, and that's more than I've done. Now, I convinced him to let me come for you. I fought with him—_me_. _I_ fought with Magneto—for _you_. I've never challenged him in my life—but I did it for you. To save you. And if you don't come with me now, I'll kill you right here to avenge the man who wants to save your life and I'll never think of you again."

* * *

Pyro just stared at her and, without a word, began to remove the tubes and monitors himself. His vital signs went flat and he stood up. They would come soon, he knew.

"What's the plan?" he asked. "You bring me a lighter?"

"They took it from me."

"Then I can't fight."

She smiled at him, for the first time since she'd entered the room. "They took the lighter," she said, "but they didn't take," she reached around to the back of her head and pulled out the sticks that were holding up her hair, "the matches." She revealed two, long red tipped matches, perfectly disguised, heretofore, as hair accoutrements.

He reached for them, and she pulled back. He felt like a man deprived of water in a desert. He watched as she lifted her shoe, on the side of which was glued the match lighting strip and she dragged one of the matches along it and it ignited.

The part of him that had been dead for two weeks sprang alive, as the flame danced on the end of the stick. Pyro stared at it for a moment, breathed in the delicious sent of burning sulfur and looked briefly into Eden's eyes. There was fire of different kind in those eyes—he could feel the heat of that in his core.

As the flame traveled down the long, wooden stem of the match, he took the fire away from it and held it in his hand. The flame licked his fingers like a dog too long separated from its master and all too glad to be reunited at last.

He felt alive.

"You got any clothes in here?"

"No," he answered, barely hearing her.

"Does that gown have a back?"

Now he heard her. "Yeah," he answered.

"Then let's go."

They opened the door and stepped out. "Nice," Pyro said, when he saw the guard with the holes in his neck.

She bent down and took his guns from their holsters. "Thanks," she answered, masking pride. Her head tilted suddenly, like she'd heard something. "Get ready," she said.

A gun in each hand, Eden stretched her arms to their full length. They ran together, and as they turned one corner, police turned another, and they were face to face suddenly, one group semi-prepared, and the other armed and ready.

Pyro took out the first line of police with a stream of flames. Weapons fired aimlessly. He grabbed Eden and held her as close to him as he could and built a cylindrical shield of fire around them and they moved as one.

They reached the stairs and Pyro automatically started going down.

"No," Eden said, "you up, me down."

"What?"

"Go to the roof!" she ordered. "He can't carry both of us!"

"Who?!"

"GO!"

And he went.

* * *

Eden crawled along the underside of the stairs until she reached the lobby again. Several more officers had gone up them in that time, but no one had seen her.

The first floor of the hospital was in a kind of confused chaos—they did not know what was happening above them, but they knew something was wrong. The Security Guard that had searched her was shepherding people outside. He saw her and the look on his face as he pieced things together was priceless; she winked at him, and ran out an emergency exit door.

The door opened out onto an alley between the hospital and the rehabilitation center. She leaned, breathless against the wall and let herself rest for just a minute. She just needed one minute.

"Don't move, or I'll slit your throat."

She did not move, and a blade, butter-smooth and steel sharp slid over her throat. She followed the blade to its origin, and it was emerging from between the knuckles of a man she had heard of, but never seen.

"The Wolverine," Eden said to herself.

* * *

Pyro reached the roof. He looked around and for a moment, he began to think that this had been some awful game, a trick to punish him. Then, he heard someone call, "Pyro."

He turned and saw a man—a man with dark skin, and even darker brown wings. "You Pyro?" he said with an accent that slightly rolled the 'r'.

"Yeah," he said, skeptically.

The winged man threw him a bundle. He caught it and saw that it was a pair of his own pants and a shirt, clothes he'd forgotten about. "Put them on," the mutant ordered.

"Do we have time?"

"Your not getting on my back without pants on, so, yes, we have time. Come on! _Im_ _she_! Quickly!"

He turned his back to him. Pyro changed in seconds and walked over to the other man. "Now what?"

"Climb on."

Pyro frowned. "Last time somebody gave me a piggy back, I accidentally set them on fire."

The man grinned. "Yeah? Well, if that happens on this trip, your gonna find yourself in the Hudson. Ok?" Pyro nodded. "_D'jahlla_, let's go."

Pyro climbed onto the man's back. "You know, we've come so close in so short a time, I feel like I should know your name."

Without a word, the other man dove off the side of the building, and Pyro got that roller-coaster feeling in his stomach. When they gained lift, and were soaring easily, and surprisingly fast, across the city, the man turned his head almost all the way around and said, "Hawk."

* * *

"Now, tell me where he is," Logan growled.

The girl stood stock still, but did not seem afraid. She appeared intrigued, more than anything else; and she kept looking down at his claws with the most genuine curiosity, not like he was threatening her life with them, but rather like he was giving her a demonstration of his abilities.

"_Where is Pyro_?" he demanded, louder this time.

She lifted her eyes to his, tilted her head slightly and smiled, two white fangs poked out from beneath her upper lip.

"Wait a minute, I know you." He put it together. The girl from Montreal, the one that had disappeared from the Mansion the day of the Cure battle. "I knew it!" he said, and lost inhibition. His other hand found her throat and encased it, lifting her off the ground. She gasped instinctually, but did not resist.

Her eyes still smiled, though her throat tightened. After a few moments, he released her slightly, giving her the chance to speak.

She wheezed and tried to breathe through her nose. "She's…alright, Wolverine. Don't worry about…her."

The hair on the back of his neck bristled. "Who? What are you talking about?"

Again, the girl met his eyes. They were strange eyes, that had no eyelids. Slit black pupils revealed nothing, not sadness, not anger, not fear—nothing. They were not empty eyes, they were full of mystery—and knowledge, like she knew everything he did not, and could never know.

He shoved his forearm hard against her upper chest, just below her collar bone and she struggled for breath. "What are you talking about?!" he roared.

"R-rouge," she stuttered, for want air, "she's…ok…"

He pushed harder. "Where is she?! What did you do to her?!" The girl's face grew reddish purple and her eyes gazed upwards. He was killing her and he did not care.

Then, something heavy, a dead weight, landed on his shoulders. Were it not for his skeleton, it might have crushed him. Instead, it pushed him several feet into the pavement and caused him great, although, momentary pain. He felt his claws come in contact with flesh as he went down. He looked up and a foot collided intentionally with his face. He blinked past blood in time to see a blurry image of the girl climbing backwards up the wall, followed by a man who raced up it along side of her.

And they were gone.


	6. Chapter 6: Giants

**Chapter 6: Giants**

"I don't…really know if this is a good idea."

Juggernaut scowled. "Look, if you're gonna be of any use to us, we gotta figger out what exactly you can 'andle."

Rogue shifted from foot to foot. "A couch?" she questioned.

Quicksilver laughed, but Juggernaut continued. "If you don't fink you cin catch it, move outta the way."

She looked as if she were about to protest, so, before she had another chance to speak, he lobbed the couch at her and watched to see what would happen.

They had been at this all morning. The day before, Magneto had, through Eden, decided that Rogue had had enough time to brood; it was time for her to start contributing something, or at least begin training with the others. Juggernaut had begun with a large rock. She had tried to lift it, and had succeeded. Then, they had played catch with it. Other objects were brought into the mix—logs, the TV, things like that.

Juggernaut crossed his arms in satisfaction. "See?" he was saying. Rogue stood, balancing the weight of the couch effortlessly above her head.

She frowned. "Maybe I should just get a job at U-Haul, or something."

Quicksilver doubled over, and the couch flew at him. He got out of the way easily, and appeared on the other side of the room, still breathless with laughter.

"Thas it, girl," Juggernaut nodded approvingly. "Anger, strength, speed, and accuracy…you're gettin' it." Rogue rubbed her upper arm self-consciously. "Break?" he asked.

"Yeah…could we?"

He tossed her a bottle of water, and they sat down on the newly-positioned couch. They drank their water in awkward silence. Quicksilver swiped a bottle without being seen, and drank, somewhat timidly, back on the other side.

"Can I ask you somethin?" Rogue said suddenly.

"Wha?"

She wiped some of the sweat from above her eyes as she spoke. "Did you…know Marvel?"

Juggernaut looked up at her. "Yeah. I knew 'er. Well," he corrected himself, "I knew who she was. Knew her name. We weren't pals, or noffing."

"Oh…" Rogue sat thinking, and drank more water. "Because I was wondering, why you all are helping me. And I was wondering if you'd still be helping me, if I had killed someone else. Someone you knew better. What if I had killed Eden?" she asked.

Juggernaut tensed. "We wouldn't be having this cozy little conversation if you had," he answered.

"What if I had killed Toad? Would Eden have killed me by now?"

He sat back. "You know, even then, I fink she'd still be helping you. Even if you'd done that."

"Why?" she begged to know.

"Because, that's Eden. If she thought you could 'elp this…_cause_," he said for lack of a better word. He hated the word cause. "If she thought Magneto could use ya, it wouldn't matter if you'd killed everybody she'd loved. This all matters more to 'er than anyfing else."

Even as he was saying it, Juggernaut realized the implications in such a statement, and how very true they were. He believed that nothing and no one could stand between her and Magneto and what they fought for. It was almost painful to admit to himself that her love extended only so far, and that her true self was wholly dedicated to something that could never love her back the way she loved it. A cause had no feelings, no reciprocation—but she gave all of herself to preserve it.

"She's…real, isn't she?" Rogue said to herself. "I mean…when you think about the…_bad guys_…who you think are the bad guys, anyway…when you think about them, you imagine monsters, who don't feel anything. And you need to imagine that to justify fighting them…and then, in the end, they're all just real people, fighting for real things."

Juggernaut looked over at her and said nothing for a minute. Then, "Come on, I want to throw the boat at you."

"Ok," she said.

* * *

Giants come in all sizes.

Rogue had been working with an actual giant all day. And when, after the day was done, she entered the kitchen to find something to eat, another giant was sitting at the table—a giant of a different kind.

She turned out of the kitchen, almost as soon as she entered it. But he had seen her, and called to her. "Marie, don't run from me."

She stopped in her tracks, turned slowly and looked at him as calmly as she could. He gestured to a chair across from him and she took it, reluctantly.

"You've been avoiding me."

"I can't imagine why," she responded.

"Well, we were bound to run into each other at some point. This is my house, after all."

Rogue pushed her hair out of her eyes, in a habitual, nervous way. "Whadda you want?"

For some time, Magneto just stared at her. It was so unnerving. Rogue looked towards the exit, wondering whether she should just leave. The silence was unbearably cruel. She had just decided she would leave, when Magneto spoke at last.

"I'm not going to apologize to you."

She glared at him. "Wow, I'm really—not at _all_ surprised by that. I mean, why should I even expect an apology? You only tried to kill me. What was it you said, 'Your sacrifice will mean our survival?'"

"Word for word."

Her blood boiled. "I know in my heart that I hate you. And I don't know if it's me, or Marvel—but one of us also knows deep down that you're right. One of us knows that everything you say, and everything you've done, is right. And it's killing me trying to figure out which one of us it is."

"It's you Marie."

She had not realized it, but the gripping feeling in her throat and the sudden heat in her eyes told her that she was about to cry. "How…how do you know it's me?"

"I just do. Marvel's presence in you is strong—but yours is no less strong. You may be sharing a consciousness with someone else, but _you_ are here, now. Just you, Marie."

"It's Rogue!" she exclaimed defensively, unable to think of anything to contradict him. He said nothing in reply. Her hands began to shake. "You know," she said, "I've seen…I know what happened to you. In your mind—pictures, images, like a film. When you touched me, I saw them. And they were horrible. I'm reminded everyday of what you tried to do to me. But it isn't just all those horrible things that happened to you, that roll over in my mind every night in my nightmares. I can _see_ what you did every time I look in the mirror." She took one of her white locks in her hand. "I can never forget…how weak I was, how helpless. How close I was to dying! You did that to me, and I'll never ever forgive you for it!" Her heart was racing as she said these things, never had she been so angry, never had she been so forthright. When she was finished, she got up from the table so fast, she knocked over the chair. Ignoring it, she made to leave the kitchen, when Magneto, quietly, and almost sadly said,

"You could have died your hair, you know."

She turned and nodded slowly. "Yeah, and you could've removed that tattoo."

He nodded. "Yes." He touched his left forearm absently, seemingly unaware that he was even doing it. "I think we understand each other," he said, "Rogue."

She crossed her arms and shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe we do." She took one step forward, picked up the chair, righted it, and left the room.

* * *

"Shit, you alright?!"

Eden clutched her chest, just below her neck. Blood ran between her fingers. Toad yanked her hand away to see the extent of her wound. It was a deep gash, just below her collarbone. A thousand 'what if?' scenarios ran through his head—Wolverine could have slit her throat—could have stabbed her through the heart—could have punctured her lung—and then, where would he be? He was so angry at himself. This was his fault.

"Oh, God!" he exclaimed, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Don't," she argued, "don't. It doesn't matter. I've got to stop this bleeding."

"I can stop it," he said, "with my spit. It'll sting like a bitch though."

"Do it," she agreed. "It's better than bleeding to death."

He spat into his hand, a large quantity of green slime. He hesitated for a moment.

"Come on!" she insisted. And he pressed his hand against her chest, smearing the slime along the wound. She hissed and bit down so hard on her lip, it bled. "Shit, shit, shit."

He took her into his arms. "You ok?"

"Remind me to never, ever let you do that again!"

He clutched her close to him and kissed her forehead. Then he leapt from the roof of that building to the next, and to the next, and to the next, lithely and without effort. It was like a wicked game of leap frog. In minutes he was near the river again. Hawk was on the building, waiting for him. Without a word, he flew towards the boat, which was already a good way from the shore. Toad leapt after him and they were on board in a second. He lay Eden down on the deck.

"What happened?" cried the boy, who must have been Pyro. Toad glanced up at him. He rushed to Eden and touched her tentatively. Toad frowned, but turned his attention to Eden's wound. The hardened spit was a purple-green now, blood sandwiched between it and her skin.

"We ran into one of your old friends," Toad answered spitefully.

"_My_ old friends?"

"Yeah, the Wolverine. Almost slit her throat."

"You say that like it's my fault," Pyro said.

Toad leered at him. "Is it?"

"Stop it!" Eden declared. "Just…get this off of me!" She touched the encased wound, trying to remove the slime. "Please."

"I can't…we have to wait till we get back."

Her eyes watered, but she refused to cry. "Fine, alright," she breathed. "Alright."

"Toad," Hawk called. "I can't steer this. Come on."

He stroked her face delicately. "I'll be right back."

* * *

Pyro watched Toad leave. He was a hulking, bandy-legged, lurch of a mutant. He was short, he was warty, he had crazy hair and weird gummy teeth and…well, he was just fucking ugly.

He looked at Eden. She was so small compared to him, so weak. He wondered briefly what sex was like for them—Toad looked like he could kill her in bed. It was like a tree making love to a toothpick.

Eden pushed herself back and sat up, leaning against the side of the boat. She groaned slightly.

"Can I get you anything?"

"There's bottles of water, underneath the bench…"she responded. He got one, and opened it for her. After she had drunk most of it, she spoke to him.

"I guess it's safe to say that you got out okay?"

"Yeah, no problems…it's kind of amazing that the X-Men haven't caught up with us yet."

"The Phoenix disintegrated their jet, remember? I guess they haven't built a new one." She smiled and he smiled back.

"Thanks," he said, suddenly, "thanks for coming to get me."

Eden frowned. She seemed confused. "Did you think I'd leave you there?"

"Well…I kind of…betrayed the Brotherhood."

She sighed, and winced as her chest expanded. "Right…that. Well, I hope you're over your whole 'vengeance-is-mine' phase?"

"After this, I guess I have to be."

She looked painfully at him, but very seriously. "Pyro, you have to know that I _will_ kill you if you try anything. Or Toad will. Someone _will_."

He grimaced. "You really think I would? You don't trust me?"

She sat a little straighter. "Today, against the better judgment of almost everyone, I saved your life. So far, I think the only person we can trust here is me."

It stung Pyro, but he knew it was true. He was angry, but not enraged. Anger and resignation tend to negate one another. "_Almost_ everyone?" he repeated. "Who was on my side?"

"Besides me?" she replied. "Juggernaut."

Pyro nodded. "Good guy to have on your side."

Eden smiled, not in her new, condescending way, but in the old way—the way she used to smile when he said something that amused her, in the days when they spent all their time together, in dank, dingy hotels, eating McDonald's and watching bad TV.

He was about to say something, while he had the chance. And, like in a soap opera episode, Toad appeared on the scene and interrupted him before he could begin.

He squatted down by Eden's side, ignoring Pyro completely. He spoke to her in soft, adoring tones, and kissed her hand, and stroked her face—there was never a truer tale than beauty and the beast, thought Pyro. Why? Why does the beast win?

When he could no longer stomach the love, he left them to themselves and approached Hawk. Hawk was grinning devilishly. Already, Pyro had an affinity for this mutant. "What the hell are you smiling at?"

"You two," he said, "you have a past. I can almost smell it." He scoffed at Pyro in different, rolling language, full of long 'R's and hacking 'H's.

"Hey man, if you're gonna insult me, do it in English." Hawk laughed, but did not translate whatever it was he had said.

Pyro leant against the cabin wall. "What about them, anyway?" he asked. "I know Eden, but I don't know Toad. You know them both. Will it last forever?"

"Nothing lasts forever," Hawk responded ambivalently.

"Nothing," Pyro mused. "Let's hope."

_

* * *

Scar my heart_

_my love, my own_

_Time can never heal_

_what Time has never known_

_Time goes by_

_and no matter how far_

_Time heals nothing_

_it only leaves a scar_

_So, scar my heart_

_rip into me sure_

_aim for my soul_

_I will endure_

…_with time_

* * *

"I'm really…well, disappointed James."

The Senator shook his head. "I had no idea Magneto would come after him. Not after what happened at your laboratory."

"Well...I'm not one to hold grudges."

Duro shook his head. "What do you think his plan is? What does he want?"

"Want, James? Want? He wants what we all want—power. To make the world the way he thinks it should be. To destroy those who oppose him. He is just like us, you know."

"Mutants are animals," Duro said scathingly.

"I've worked with mutants my entire life, and if there is one thing I have learned, it is that they are most assuredly _not_ animals. They are clear-thinking creatures, with hopes, and desires, and agendas. They are not animals, James, they are just—inhuman."

"Isn't that the same thing, Rhys?"

"Not quite," he answered. "To be inhuman is not automatically defined as being an animal; it is to simply be non-human. A rock is non-human, and a tree is likewise. Trees and rocks cannot think, however, therefore these mutants, these non-humans, as it were, are more than _just_ non-human; they are _in_human—cold, ruthless, thinking beings with minds and hearts. Besides," Weir continued, "if they _were_ animals, we would have a bigger problem."

"What's that?"

Weir smiled. "P.E.T.A."

Duro laughed in spite of himself. He poured them both another cup of coffee and mused over it, as the steam rose into his face, clouding his eyes.

"This Washington coffee is quite disappointing," Weir commented.

Duro shrugged. "I've had worse." He smiled, suddenly remembering. "Marco used to send Kelly coffee from Brazil all the time—that was good coffee."

"Poor Lucas," Weir said. "He should have listened to me. Which reminds me," he leaned forward, "have you been listening to me?"

Duro looked away. "I don't know about all that, Rhys, it's a bit of a stretch. I mean, it's one thing for that girl to get to you at your laboratories—it's another for her to miraculously break through Washington security and get close enough to me to bite me and poison me."

Weir shook his head. "Have you watched the security footage from the hospital in New York, where the fire mutant was taken?"

"A hundred times," Duro said.

"Well, then," Weir spread his hands, "you have seen my Jaida. The one who drops from the ceiling and kills the policeman, the one who smuggles in the matches to give to the fire mutant, the one who scales the side of the building to escape capture."

The Senator looked taken aback. "You said she was weak!"

"She _is_ weak," Weir answered, "you should have seen her when she was strong. Take my advice, James, develop immunity to her. She's proved to be surprising."

Duro nodded thoughtfully and was quiet for a moment.

"Deep thoughts, my friend?"

"I was thinking of Magneto, and of the members of his mutant group. They've all been—remarkably capable and strong. He's one of the most powerful mutants on earth."

"All true. What is your conclusion?"

"I have no conclusion. I'm just wondering, why would he keep her? What use is she, if she's as weak as you say?"

"Ah, James, she is his weak link."

"How's that?"

Weir steepled his fingers over his cup. The steam rose between them. "Jaida is remarkably capable, despite her incapability. She works her way into men's hearts. Her eyes hypnotize you; her voice calms you. It is a power that is either mutant or natural—I was never sure. It may be her mutation—it may be just her. But, she has worked her way even into the heart of Magneto and that, my friend, is something indeed."

"What about yours Rhys? Has she got yours?"

He gave Duro a half-grin. "Anything is possible," he answered, to James' surprise. "But," he continued, "you don't have to worry about that."

"Why's that?"

"Because I do not have a heart."


	7. Chapter 7: Legalities

**Chapter 7: Legalities **

Rogue was glad when she heard Eden's voice as she and the others came in from outside. She stood when they entered, with one hand jammed nervously in her pocket.

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have—" Pyro stopped mid-sentence, looking up from his conversation with Eden to Rogue. "Ho-_ly_ shit…" he said jauntily. "You are definitely the last person I would've expected to see here."

"Leave her alone," Eden muttered.

Pyro approached her, crossing his arms appraisingly. "Marie, Marie, Marie…bad girl," he laughed.

She looked down, away from him. He turned a half-circle around her. "Ah, come on Marie—we're not strangers."

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Hi John," was all she said.

He looked disappointed. The delight he was taking in seeing her at the Lair drained out of his face. He gazed at her now as one would a terminal patient in a hospital. "What happened?"

Rogue could not speak. The terror of seeing him now over, his presence suddenly brought to mind all that she had been through in the last several weeks—his association with the mansion forced her to think about Bobby and Logan. She did not want to think about them.

Eden saved her from explaining. She came up behind him and took his arm. "Come on," she instructed, "let's get you something to eat."

Pyro took the hint. He smiled at Rogue—a strangely gentle grin, from his usually cocky expressions—and followed Eden out of the room.

Rogue noticed that she left the room and did not beckon Toad to follow. He stood in front of her in an unsure kind of way and saw that she was looking at him. "Wha?" he spat.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

He looked to where Eden had just left and then behind him, over his shoulder. Rogue still stood there, stupidly, watching him. He approached her. "You know that expression? 'I wouldn't trust you any farther than I could throw you?'" He came closer. "Well, I could throw you so far, you'd die before you hit solid ground again—I could take you and your little friend, one in each hand—" here, he held out both of his green, webbed hands for her to see—"turn you into little balls and make a good game of it." He clapped his hands together in front of her face so fast and hard that she jumped back in fear of the sound. "There's far too many ex-X-Men in this Lair—and I'm watching you, both of you. Eden's too good to see what you both really are—but me?" He grinned devilishly, and his little, green-gummed teeth smirked grossly at her from inside his mouth, "I'm just plain evil, girl." He reached up and twisted a chunk of her white hair around his finger. "Remember that, eh?"

Remember—she remembered something like this. Well, that is, Marvel remembered something like this. A larger man, running his fingers through her hair. She had known what he had wanted from her at that time, and she had felt so weak and defenseless then.

But she wasn't weak and defenseless now.

"Get away from me," she hissed.

Far from intimidating him, this demand actually made Toad laugh. Then, all of sudden, he stopped laughing. His face became like a devil's and he no longer played with her hair, but pulled it so hard she cried out!

Instinctually, she reached up with both hands to grab his arm. But he only pulled harder. She could feel her roots giving way. He thrust her to ground before they pulled free and turned and walked away from her.

Part of Rogue was only too glad to see him go—but the other half screamed at her to retaliate. How dare he touch her? How dare he hurt her? She deserved better than to be treated like this.

As if in a dream, she lunged at him, knocking him off his feet, and off his guard. He recovered quickly, wheeled around and kicked her across the face. It was strange how painless that kick seemed. She ignored gravity, raising herself off of the ground, and kneed him, quickly under the chin, knocking him back.

He shook his head in a quick motion, spitting and laughed, "Well, well—bitch has a got a backbone. Watch me fucking break it!"

He flipped backwards, and his feet found the wall and used it to project him across to her like a cannonball. He slammed into her center and knocked her out of the air, to the ground. She rebounded, punching him the stomach, and then kicking him swiftly in the same place. She knew the power of his legs, and flew away from the ground in moment, just managing to avoid his crushing power. He glared angrily up at her, extended his tongue, wrapped it around her waist, and pulled her back down again.

She had her opportunity and took it. Her bare hand grabbed his tongue, and held it tight. At first, he seemed to not be affected by her touch, but then suddenly, he was frozen. His eyes widened in such surprise. And then, there was only pain.

_Someone was on top of him. Punching him, over and over and over again. His face was swollen, he could barely see. _

"_Mortimer, you slimy, fucking frog! Fight back frog, fight back!"_

He was losing consciousness—_and so was the Toad that Rogue was seeing in the memory. _

_It was sudden, but the Toad in the memory, who was called Mortimer, made a last ditch effort to save himself and kicked his bent knee against the stomach of the boy who was on top of him._

_As if it had been a wrecking ball, his knee crushed the boy's insides upon impact and his blood spilled all over Mortimer, to his amazement. Rogue watched through Mortimer's blurry eyes as his persecutor died slowly and gasping. Rogue desired to look away, but she felt the corners of her mouth lift into a grin, as Mortimer looked on feeling—vindication—feeling pleasure._

Rogue let him go, a horror welled inside of her like nothing she had ever experienced. She had never felt so intrusive—this was an episode in Toad's life that had been meant to stay a secret—always. His first kill… She did not want to know it—but God, how she knew it now!

He was staring at her from the ground, where he had fallen. His eyes were glazed over, but cold. He got up shakily.

"I'm…sorry…" Rogue whispered. "I…didn't…"

He walked past her without another word.

* * *

"Place hasn't changed much." Pyro sat down at the table and watched as Eden prepared him something to eat. It was uncanny, how similar this situation was to the first time he had met her.

How much had happened since then? Events rolled over and over in his mind. He saw her in a dozen different situations—in their hotel rooms, watching TV—on the floor of the mutant clinic, dying—in bed, lightly covered with a white sheet. He blinked—yes, this was so like the first time he had ever seen her. She had hardly changed since then.

She sat across from him, after pouring him a cup of coffee and making him a sandwich. He touched the sandwich, but could not bring himself to eat it.

"You want something else?"

He looked up at her. "Yeah…" he said. And then shook his head, "I mean, no, this is fine. I was…just thinking…"

She did not press him or ask him what he was thinking. He watched as she sipped her tea, nonchalantly, as if nothing had ever happened between them that they might need to talk about. She gave him no chance to segue into what it was he wanted to say. He just had to say it, awkwardly and abruptly.

"Eden…I know that with Toad…I mean, I know that you and him are—" The hardest part of this was that she refused to look at him or give any indication that she was hearing him at all. "You—you said that you loved me Eden. And—"

She sighed, letting her cup drift to the surface of the table. "Pyro, please don't. Let's not do this."

His heart beat faster. "You did say it," he said.

She sighed again, shaking her head.

He took her arm. "Why did you come for me, then? Why did you save me?"

Still, she refused to look at him. "You're one of us, Pyro. I wasn't going to leave you there to die."

A thought occurred to him, his chance. "You were going to leave Toad," he said.

She froze and then, looked at him at last. "What—what are you talking about?"

"Magneto told me. I remember. In California, he said that you were willing to let Toad go at his say so. That you would give up trying to save him because Magneto wanted you to."

Eden's mouth opened and closed. Her defenses fell. She had nothing to say, no words to defend herself. She tried anyway, "No…that's not—"

"Eden," he stopped her.

"It was different then," she whispered. "Magneto had no powers. We had no followers…I thought Toad was dead…"

He drew closer to her. "You love me. That's why you did this—why you risked your life, and Toad's too—you love me."

He was so close to her that his lips brushed against hers as he spoke. She did not pull away and he could not stop himself from kissing her. At first, she held back. Hopelessly, she gave in—but only for one moment.

She pushed her hands against his chest, and stood up. "No!"

"Please, Eden—"

She wiped away his kiss with the back of her hand. "I love Toad, Pyro. I'm sorry…I'm sorry—"

He got up from the table. He reached for her and she drew back. He let his hand drop and moved past her.

She grabbed his arm and there were tears in her eyes. "Pyro—"

He held up his hand. "Don't," he whispered. "Just…don't…"

* * *

Toad massaged his jaw where that bitch had kicked him. Twice, in the same place. It cracked as he rubbed it, but it was feeling better. As he entered the kitchen, Pyro was leaving it. He was glad of that.

Eden was standing there, looking surprised. There were two tears on her face and her eyes were red. She looked down, away from him and started to clear the table.

"Hey," he said, "what gives?"

"N-nothing," she mumbled.

He grabbed her by her shoulders and turned her around to face him. "He say something to you?"

"It doesn't matter," she said, trying to get away. He knocked the plates out of her hands and they crashed to the floor. "Toad!" she cried.

"_What the hell is going on_?"

"We were having an argument—that's all. Nothing serious."

"Nothing serious!" he repeated. "And he made you cry?"

She was trying to get out of his grasp, but his grip was relentless. "You're hurting me," she whispered.

Toad let go suddenly, afraid of his own anger, and of the jealousy that was rising in him. He could feel it coiling around his heart like a poison. "I'm…sorry…I didn't mean to."

"It's ok," she said.

"I just—he shouldn't be making you cry—" He touched her face with the tips of his fingers. "No one should make you cry."

He kissed her lips. It took him only a moment to realize why she had tried to pull away from him as he did so. He yanked back. Fury…he knew fury. Rage…he knew rage. He spat onto the floor. The taste, the _taste_!

Toad had never seen her look more frightened, more terrified. He was glad she was frightened. He clenched his fists, spitting again. He could not get rid of the taste! "You bitch…" his voice rumbled inside of him, making him shake, "you fucking bitch…I can _taste_ him on you!"

She reached for him. "Toad…"

"Don't touch me!" he screamed.

He tore out of the room. _Don't follow_, he mentally told her. _Don't follow_. But she did follow. _Stay back_, he warned, as he felt his anger become him. He was becoming blind to everything but his rage. It was overtaking him. Everything came into sharp, disgusting focus—why she had insisted on saving Pyro—why she had brought him here. Oh God! It was unbearable! He wanted to kill her!

He spun around when he heard her call his name. "Eden, I swear to God!" His hand was raised and it stopped her in her tracks.

"Toad…let me explain—"

"Do you love him?!"

"No!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" He punched his fist through the wall. Dust and metal and stone burst out upon his arm and cascaded to the floor. He spoke, barely above a whisper, "Get away from me, Eden."

"Toad—"

He tore his hand back out, bringing more dust and chunks of wall with it. "GET AWAY!"

She did not understand. He could not explain. She had to get away from him before he hurt her. He wanted to hurt her, and the only thing stopping him was the thought of how angry Magneto would be if he found out—which, of course, he would—especially if he killed her by accident—which was very likely.

"Toad, Toad!" she pleaded. "You don't understand!" She got too close, just too close! He backhanded her! Hard! He sent her flying sideways into the wall. She bounced off the wall, and fell at his feet. She cradled her face in her hand, crying freely now.

He grabbed his own wrist, as if to hold himself back from beating her any further. Having struck the blow, his anger lifted just enough for him to see what he had done. "Oh fuck…" he whispered. "I told you! I told you! I told you to get away from me!"

He grabbed hold of the wall and scaled it, blinded by tears, feeling his way up, getting as far away from her as he possibly could.

* * *

"Hey, you alright?"

Pyro turned towards the sound of the voice. It was Rogue. He kept walking. "Like you really care."

He heard her start to follow him. "Look, I'm trying here!" she called out.

He stopped and turned. "You shouldn't have come here, Rogue. Everybody here is insane."

Rogue shrugged. "Maybe that's _why_ I'm here." She smiled. "Is that why you're here?"

"I guess," he said. "Must be."

They stood facing each other rather awkwardly. Rogue looked older, different somehow. Her face had fine, almost unnoticeable lines in it that did not seem to belong to her. Her eyes seemed to be two different colors at the same time. "You've been through something," he commented.

"You too."

She pretended to be interested in something on the ceiling. He did likewise. They did this for some moments. "How long you been here?"

"Almost three weeks," she answered. He waited for an explanation. Rogue twisted her fingers together nervously. "I kind of…got some issues, memories that aren't mine—new powers. It's hard to explain."

"So you came _here_?"

She frowned. "I was brought here," she said. "By the person who—well, the one whose memories I have…"

He thought he understood. "You kill somebody?" he asked incredulously.

She nodded.

Pyro digested this information. Unexpected, yes, but life takes so many strange turns. He found he was curious to know all about it—what new powers she had, how she was using them. At any rate, it would take his mind off of Eden. "I'm going for a walk outside. Come with me."

"Alright."

* * *

It was hardly the end of the world.

Or was it?

Her teeth had cut the inside of her mouth. A little puddle of blood was forming on the floor below her. How red it was—a black red, thick like melting sugar.

She put her finger in it, and stirred it thoughtlessly. What a mess she was making! She would have to clean it up, before it stained the floor.

She could feel her face swelling, even as she held it. She should get some ice before it got worse. She should—she should—

So, why did she just stay there? Why did she just sit in the middle of the passageway, where, at any moment someone might walk through and find her?

She knew why.

She was waiting for him to come back, to pick her up and mop away the blood. She was waiting for him to hold her in his arms and tell her that he loved her. She did not want him to apologize, no—she wanted, needed, to beg him for forgiveness.

But he did not come.

She knew he would not.

"Get up," Eden demanded of herself. Her mouth was so swollen, it sounded more like, "Ger ip."

It was cold on the floor, and she was not sure how long she had been there, but her legs were stiff and her arms were stiff and her face was stiffer and swelling all the more. She had been there long enough to feel the tears dry like plaster on her face and the blood become crusty like sand.

She was still playing with the blood pool, when two converse sneakers appeared out of nowhere at the edge of the puddle. She looked up and scrambled to her feet, keeping her head down.

"The hell happened?" Quicksilver asked.

"Nerthing," she said through the swelling. "Jerst go awey."

She turned away from him, but he moved speedily in whatever direction she tried to go. He rested his hands on his hips. "Not going anywhere. What happened?"

She stepped past him. He followed. "Medical lab?" he asked. "Should get some ice."

She rolled her eyes. "Yer think?"

* * *

"The Senator from South Carolina has the floor!" called the Senate President.

"Thank you, Mr. President," Duro drawled. The Senate was unusually full today, Senators and Pages scattered throughout the room. "You all know my position on the mutant phenomena, and I am more than proud of this august body for its recent passing of the new Mutant Registration Law. _However_," he paused for emphasis, "however, I do not think we have done enough."

Several sleepy heads peered closer at him, wondering what he meant, curious to know his next move. "Some of us lived through the Cold War, all of us have lived through the War on Terror—we know, perhaps better than most, that an enemy within one's own country is more dangerous than an enemy without it. We know that it is easier to fight a war when one knows whom one is fighting. We know that recently, war has become a less broad concept—more finite, more particular. War, Senators, is what I am here to talk about today."

Everyone was awake now. They sat upright, hanging on his every word. "Senators, many of us, more than half, have unofficially declared war on the mutant community. I know I have." Some smiled at this statement, knowing what was coming next. "I propose that this august body, at long last, declare, _officially_, and openly, war on the Mutants. They are our enemy now," he yelled, as the din rose, some cheering, others protesting, "the only enemy we need worry about!"

"Senator!" shouted one of his staunchest opponents, a Senator Gavin Ross, "Senator, do you seriously mean that we are to declare war on citizens of this country? Are we to declare war on ourselves?"

"More mutants are joining Magneto in the fight against us!" argued Duro. "Are we to wait for them? Are we to stand by and do nothing?!"

Ross stood up. "Duro, you know we're doing all we can to track Magneto. We will capture him and he will be brought to justice!"

"We have already captured him and he has escaped!" Ross was silenced. "Senators," cried Duro, "I beg you to consider this. A war, an official, declared war, would serve as a means to destroy the threat that Magneto poses within the limits of the laws of war! It would allow us to focus all of our energies on the protection of our people, our citizens!"

"Senator," said Senator Mitch Griffin, "I agree with you about seeking out Magneto and destroying him, but to declare war on the mutants as a whole is absurd! There are mutants that are peaceful, others who have fought along with us!"

Duro smiled. "Fought along with us?"

"Yes, and you know the ones I mean."

"Oh, I know!" declared Duro. "You mean, Xavier, and Doctor Jean Grey, perhaps?" The Senate hummed. "Xavier who was killed by one of his own people, and Jean Grey who, _after_ killing him, disintegrated over _four hundred_ men in our armed forces—ladies and gentlemen, these are not our allies!" Duro laughed. "Perhaps you mean Logan, or _the Wolverine_, perhaps you mean the one they call Storm—who allied with Magneto and murdered General Stryker, several dozens of his men, and burst the dam to drown the place into oblivion! My God, with friends like these, who needs enemies?!"

"Senator Duro, there are circumstances and events which—"

"Which what?" he cried. "Excuse this behavior? No!" He slammed his hand against his table. The thud silenced the chamber. "No. This cannot be excused, this cannot be washed away! I tell you, my friends, this is what they want! To divide us amongst ourselves, to occupy us and thus destroy us. Senators! Can you not see, can you not hear! The writing is on the wall and it spells 'Mutant'!"

* * *

"How long's this been goin' on?"

Magneto looked up from the television at Juggernaut. "All day," he said.

Juggernaut watched as the lead Senator slammed his hand onto the table, screaming and going off like a madman. "You think they'll do it?"

"They're running around in circles right now—but they'll have to come to a decision—and yes, I think they will. Duro is—persuasive."

"Finally," Juggernaut said with satisfaction. Then he frowned. "Tha's a good thing, right?"

"Honestly, they'll be doing us a favor," Magneto said.

"How d'you reckon?"

The man smiled. "Well, by declaring us _legal_ combatants," he mused, "at least we won't be outlaws anymore."


	8. Chapter 8: Wounded

**Chapter 8: Wounded**

Rogue and Pyro had stayed out late, walking among the trees until the light turned into moonlight. The silver gray beams shone through the trees, making odd shadows on the ground. Above them, as they walked, sometimes talking, sometimes not, the trees swept whispers as the wind echoed off the walls of the Lair.

It was strange, the company that they gave each other. In another world, one in which events had transpired differently, they would be trying to kill each other, instead of trying to understand. It may yet come to that, they both knew, when allegiances would change as other events transpired in the future. But, as it was, they walked together in the moonlight, and were content to do so.

It was most eerie, then, as they walked, when they came upon Magneto, floating effortlessly above the ground, near the tops of the trees. Pyro saw his shadow on the ground first and then, looking up, realized it was him. What did he feel? He could not be sure. The last time he had seen Magneto was when he had been floating above a crowd of men with guns, encasing his scattered army within a bubble of magnetism and soaring through the rain to freedom, as Storm's lighting had bounced off the magnetic shield like fireworks. That moment, like no other, had touched him in a way he could not rightly describe in words. He was reminded of it now, and it silenced him.

Rogue wondered at his distraction and, looking up, she seemed touched, too. She gasped, at first, in surprise; the sound of it alerted Magneto to their presence. Seeing them, he lowered to ground and stood in front of them. Pyro had the odd sensation that he ought to bow, but he did not. He merely stood there, wondering and waiting.

Magneto's gray eyes were grayer in the moonlight and they regarded Pyro and Rogue with a kind of interested distance. "You're back," was all he said.

"Yeah," Pyro answered. "Yeah, I'm back." He tried to look confident, but knew he was failing.

"To what end?"

Pyro crossed his arms. He looked to the side of him, trying to think of what to say. "I guess…I want back in," he answered.

Magneto smirked. "Back in?" he repeated, with a laugh. "To the Brotherhood?"

Pyro did not like when Magneto laughed like that. It never failed to unnerve him. "Yeah," he said.

Magneto eyed him for some time, just looking at him, but revealing nothing. Suddenly, to Pyro's relief, his gaze transferred to Rogue, who, upon being noticed, shuffled nervously at Pyro's side. "Walk with me, both of you," he commanded. And they did.

They walked a step behind him, and he did not seem to mind this. He spoke after some minutes. "You both know what you are, and what others consider you to be. You have both betrayed those closest to you, in one way or another." Rogue hugged her arms around herself, but made no other indication that this remark affected her. Pyro clenched his fists, but said nothing. "I have taken you in, and not because I am a nice man, but because I believe that you both, with your respective powers, can be of some use to me. I do not coddle, I do not teach. What you learn from me, if anything, depends on your own perceptions. Pyro," he said, without turning, or slowing down, "you have betrayed me in a way that is unforgivable, as well as unforgettable. Rogue," he went on, "you have betrayed the boy you loved, and the Wolverine, which is no slight matter." He stopped suddenly, but kept his back to them. "I," he began again, slowly, and carefully, "I have betrayed many people in my life. People who depended on me, who loved, who trusted in me. I am not a blameless man." He paused and the weight of all his transgressions seemed to be a tangible weight on his shoulders—but only for a moment, and he resumed. "I did all this for a single reason—to fight for what I know is right, for what I know is just." At last he turned and faced them. "Can you do the same? Can you put aside your loves, your hates, even your consciences, for this fight? Because if you cannot, you should not be here."

What could Pyro say, but yes? He had lost his conscience ages ago, and he had no one to love—he would keep his hate, though, he had to. He looked over at Rogue, who stood motionless, with her mouth open and her arms at her sides.

"What do I say?" she whispered. "_Say yes_," said a voice that wasn't hers. "_He's the only one who knows the truth._" Pyro watched in awe as Rogue carried on a conversation, seemingly with herself. She spoke again, "But…what about Logan? And Bobby?" she said in her own voice. "_They know nothing_," was the reply.

She shook her head and looked at Magneto. "I don't know what to do."

He nodded. "When the time comes, you _will_ know." He rubbed his left arm with his right hand and seemed to shiver. "It's late. We should all go inside."

And without saying anything else, the three of them walked towards the Lair.

* * *

He raised the gauze to her forehead and taped it to her skin, covering the shallow wound that resided there. She flinched and touched her forehead, feeling the gauze. "I derdn't even see you do that," she said bemusedly. 

" 'm fast," he murmured, with a quiet smile.

Eden lifted the icepack to her face and pressed it there, winced ever so slightly, imperceptible, Quicksilver knew, to anyone but himself. The swelling had gone down some, but truly, she looked a mess. Her right eye was more closed that her left, which, in itself was odd, as her eyes were never closed; her head was still bleeding from a raised bump where she had hit the wall; her mouth was swollen from the inside out, where her teeth had cut against it; the whole right side of her face was a blue-red bruise, the brutal shape of four large knuckles obvious along the cheek bone.

"Dern't look at me like that," Eden mumbled through the swelling. "I cern't stand it."

He gave his head a quick shake, as if, like an etch-a-sketch, he could erase his facial expression, and he hopped onto the bed beside her. "What happened?" he asked.

She shook her head in reply. He decided it was better not to ask that question again.

Quicksilver chewed his lip anxiously, and tapped his foot. The movement shook the bed, so he stopped, and drummed his fingers instead. He realized that such a sound might annoy her, so he stopped that as well, and chewed his lip more ferociously. Then, without really thinking about it, he reached out and ran his fingers along the back of her head, through her hair. He did this as slowly as he could two or three times and she turned, frowning at him. "What're you doing?" she asked.

He shrugged, drawing his hand away. "Trying to be comforting."

She laughed and the laugh made her face hurt and the pain made her wince. The wince turned into tears, and she started to cry, not so much on account of the pain, he thought, but on account of who had caused it. She shook a little with what sounded like a combination of crying and laughing and suddenly she leaned against him, crying on his shoulder. Awkwardly, but gladly, for it gave him a sense of his own importance, he put his arm around her shoulders as she cried, stroked her hair and patted her hand and told her that he was there, and that everything would be alright.

* * *

Early in the morning, around three or four, she could not be certain, Eden walked to their room—hers and Toad's. She was not surprised to find the bed empty and the room oddly deserted. The sheets were still twisted, untouched from the night before and it gave her a strange and horrible sense of how much had changed since they lay in that same bed together only twenty-four hours ago. She said his name, knowing there would be no answer. 

"Toad?"

A cold silence was her reply. She had expected no more than that. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. The sun was rising and the cold blue light made the cold room like a morgue.

Eden stood there, motionless, for some time. The blue light was the only illumination. Without undressing, she at last crawled onto the bed. She took his pillow in her arms and held it with a vice-grip. She could smell him and it broke her heart.

She lay there shivering, unwilling to cover herself with their blankets, for a long time. Longer than she knew, for she must have slept at some point. All she knew was that the room had become brighter when she next focused her eyes.

And though she had dreamed he was in her arms, and that what had actually happened was the real nightmare, she wakened knowing that the events of the previous night were real and that it was only the pillow she held.

And she was still alone.

* * *

Somewhere, in all of us, there is a darkness. It shadows our being. It defines us by bringing us back from the ideals we have of ourselves, to what we really are. In some, this darkness is a light shadow, merely reminding one of one's own mortality. In others, like Mortimer Toynbee, this darkness is deep, black, abysmal, and lurks underneath every word spoken, every action undertook, and every promise sworn. 

It was in his blood, in his soul, and whether his recent encounter with Rogue, and the dredging up of that memory from his childhood, or tasting someone else on Eden's lips, or both—he was so immersed in this blackness, that he began to fear that he would never rise out of it.

With his clothes still on, and his shoes on his feet, Toad lay, face down, in the black pools, his eyes open, and his lungs burning. He could stay like this for hours—it had been hours. After hitting Eden, he had come here, not knowing why, and had dived straight into the water without even knowing it.

Maybe he had blacked out. He must have, because he was suddenly in a thousand different places all at once. The orphanage, prison, the laboratory of the Voice, the Lair, the hospital, prison again, the orphanage again—a giant void composed of place after place after place where he had known nothing but loneliness, nothing but rage, and nothing but his own desire for self-worth and the kill. Oh God! He needed to kill! God forgive him, he _needed_ to!

He could kill Pyro—would Magneto really care?

He could try to kill Rogue—and maybe get himself killed in the process.

He stopped thinking and flipped over onto his back, gasping for air, the water droplets from his hair flashing before him as he turned, some landing his eyes.

Is that what I want?

To die.

He took a shuddering breath. "Yes…" he said out loud.

His eyes burned.

It occurred to him that he wanted Eden, right now. He knew without knowing it that Eden was the better part of him—the only good that he had ever had in his life. Magneto was his life's devotion, but Eden—Eden was his life.

But she couldn't be, could she? Hadn't he told her that he couldn't share her? Hadn't he?! Hadn't he made that perfectly clear? If he could not have her to himself, he could not have her at all. If someone else wanted her, and she wanted them—well—he couldn't have that either. But he couldn't kill her, could he?

Could he?

He felt her thin neck in his fingers and saw her face before his eyes, as if it were real—that neck that he had licked with relish—break it!—that face that he had kissed so ravenously—crush it!

He slammed his fist into the water. No, no, no—he couldn't do that! He couldn't!

He took a deep, querulous breath, and let the water, which had made his clothes like deadweights, pull him down into the depths of the black pool. He did not resist it. The surface disappeared as the black water covered his eyes. But the darkness within him was blacker—and it covered everything else.

* * *

Quicksilver knocked on the door and opened it at the same time. Her eyes were open but he could not be sure if she were awake or asleep. 

"Eden, can I come in?"

"You're already in," she muttered from the bed.

"Um…are you coming out?"

She looked up at him. Her face was much the same as it had been last night. "I can't…" she said.

Quicksilver twisted the doorknob nervously. "Well…um…what do we do for breakfast?" he said, as fast as he could.

She laid her head back down. "Quicksilver," she answered in a calm voice, "tell everyone I'm very sick, and I don't want to be disturbed, not by anyone, but that there's cereal and all kind of things for breakfast. I'll make dinner while everyone is training outside. I can't let them see me, especially not—"

He nodded. "Yeah," he said, knowing she meant Magneto, "well…you want anything?"

She shook her head. And he left the room.

This went on for three days. Only Quicksilver saw Eden, and though everyone saw Toad, they could see something different in him that no one was willing to address, or even try to comprehend. He was like a wraith. He trained with the others, but did not eat with them. No one saw him outside of the training sessions; and during those he was so violent that Juggernaut had had to knock him out to stop him from pummeling someone to death. Upon coming to, Toad was so angry he had lunged at Juggernaut, who had swiftly retaliated and thrown Toad into a tree so hard, he had knocked it sideways, and nearly split it in half. No matter what occurred, Toad seemed to relish the pain he endured from repeated attacks during training sessions; he never spoke to anyone, except to curse at them, and the more he got injured, the harder he fought.

And after three full days of this behavior, Magneto had become quite tired of it.

* * *

When the door opened unceremoniously and without an accompanying knock, Eden cursed from inside and told whoever it was to go away, she was contagious! 

When she saw Magneto, she turned away from him with a frightened gasp. He entered, closing the door behind him.

"You don't look sick," he said. "But Quicksilver insists that you are. He doesn't know what you have, the malady seems to change everyday. Yesterday I think he told me you had SARs."

She cowered as he spoke and felt like a child. "I'm not sick," she mumbled.

"I know that. Look at me," he demanded.

"Sir…"

"_Look_—at me!"

Eden turned, slowly, with her face down.

"Turn your face up."

She did so and the look in his eyes was enough to fill her to the brim with shame. He was not angry—at least not at her. He was not so shocked as he was suddenly stuck with a kind of fear. He flew to her in an instant and gingerly took her face in his hands, inspecting it. "Eden! My girl! What—" He pieced it together in his mind more quickly than he could ask the question.

Still holding her face, his eyes widened. "My God…" he said. "Toad did this."

She took his wrist and tried to push his hand away. "Don't be mad at him—I can deal with this!" she insisted. "Please! He hasn't broken a bone in my face, but I've broken his spirit. This is nothing!"

"I can see his hand print on your face!" Magneto yelled. He could see nothing but her, nothing but her injured face—he had never understood Toad, and would never; how could he? Eden knew Toad's soul! Magneto could never know that!

"Please sir!" she begged him. "Let me deal with this!"

He was silenced, stunned. When she thought he might speak again, she stopped him. "I'm not hiding in here," she said, "I just didn't want anyone to see this. They would know where it came from—they'd figure it out—and they'd turn against him."

"He's been out of control for the past three days! He doesn't eat, and he tries to kill everybody that comes near him! They'll kill him themselves, Eden, without ever knowing what he did to you, just to defend themselves!"

This was unbearable. "I…" she started, choked and paused. "Let me…talk to him," she whispered. "Tonight."

Magneto took her arm. "Why?"

She smiled, looking up at him. "Because…he's not crazy. And I'm the only one that really knows that."

* * *

She knew where he would be. And he was there. 

Crouched by the side of the pool, with his hand trailing in the water, and his body stiff with the hours spent there.

He must have heard her, but he did not look up. She stayed a distance behind him and waited.

When he finally spoke, which was after at least twenty minutes, his voice was hoarse, liked he'd been screaming for years, and low and menacing, like an animal's. "You," he said, "have got nothing to say to me that I want to hear."

"Let me say it anyway," she said quietly.

At the sound of her voice, the muscles in his back tightened. "No."

"Toad," she said, as she stepped closer to him. He spun around and she saw the look in his eyes.

"Eden, you stay back or I'm not responsible for what I might do to you!" he growled at her.

He looked so strange and cold to her. His eyes were dark and glassy like wet rocks and his whole body had a darkness to it, like he was a living, hulking shadow. She always knew what to say to him! Why was it that her mind was so blank now, when she needed words the most?

He turned away from her again and she saw him put his hand on his chest and it seemed as though he were trying to claw at his own heart. "Oh God! Eden!" he cried suddenly. "You're tearing me up like paper!"

"Toad!"

"I'm not weak!" he said, crying, "except for you! You make me weak!" He was on his feet, facing her, one hand on his chest and the other balled up in a fist at his side. "You can cut me so fucking easily! I fucking hate you for it!"

She cried and her tears were hot and numerous. "Don't say that, please! I need you!"

"No," he said, "no you don't. You find someone else to fill my place when I'm not around! Why…" he clutched his shirt so hard she thought it would rip. "Why didn't you wait for me?!"

"You were dead!" she screamed. "You were dead!" She fell to her knees. "I was alone! And he took care of me!" Eden buried her face in her hands, her whole body wracked with sobs. "You were dead!"

His hands were suddenly on her shoulders, and for a moment she thought she was forgiven. But he shook her and it hurt. "Go to him now then! That's what you want isn't it? Him to take care of you?"

"No!"

He shook her harder. "I told you I couldn't share you! I told you that!"

She didn't know exactly what it was that made her say what she said next. It was something she had never thought about before that suddenly became so clear and real to her, she could not hold it back. "You don't know," she said with a sudden passion, "you can't possibly know what it's like to be me!"

He let her go. "What the fuck does that mean?" his voice rumbled.

Still on her knees, Eden answered him. "I am _nothing_! I can't _do_ anything! You think _you're_ weak—well, look at me!" she cried. "I'm…"she shrugged, almost laughing, "nothing." She lifted her eyes to meet his and he glowered back at her, and she knew he did not understand. "Toad, all I can do is make sure that everyone else is happy."

He comprehended her meaning, in his own way, and spat the word back at her like it was venom in his mouth. "_Happy_?" He clenched both his fists, started towards and then thought better of it. Instead of attacking her, he growled from a distance, "You fucking whore!"

Eden was still, but her heart beat fast, too fast for her frail body and she knew it. Her lungs tightened, threatening to close on her, and her breath was a wheeze, but still she shouted, "I am _not_ a whore!"

"You'd sleep with anyone, you sodding tart! Magneto, Pyro, me! Just to make yourself feel important! You're damaged goods—" As he spoke, his eyes drifted in and out of focus. It seemed sometimes he was yelling at her, and other times, at someone else. He suddenly looked shocked and cried, "Oh God, what are you making me say to you?!" He turned from her and slumped down along the pools, resuming the position he had been in when she had first come to him. And then he just screamed! A long, loud chilling cry that pierced her right through her heart and shook her into submission.

She flew to him and clutched the sleeve of his shirt. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she sobbed. "Please!"

"Oh!" he pulled at his hair, "get out of here Eden! Get out of here before I kill you!" He tore his arm out of her weak grasp, pushed her back, and nearly knocked her into the water.

"Toad please!" she screamed. "Please!"

Toad leapt and landed, pushed her to the floor and wrapped one hand neatly around her throat and squeezed.

Eden did not move. She did not fight back. She felt the blood rising in her throat and her eyes flooded red as consciousness began to leave her. Past the red spots, she stared into Toad's eyes and would not let him break contact with her. He squeezed!

"Hey!" said a voice.

Toad blinked, as if waking from a dream, looked behind him and saw Pyro. He let go, and spun about to face him, as Eden coughed and sputtered, trying to recover her breath.

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

Toad said nothing. He looked back at Eden, and then to Pyro again, but he did not answer. Pyro flicked his lighter and held a ball of flame in his hand. "Get away from her!" he yelled. "Just the get the fuck away from her!"

Toad tilted his head. "How pretty," he said, in a sadistic voice. "Game of catch, then, is it?"

"Just move away," Pyro insisted, as the flame grew.

For a moment, Eden was sure that Toad would goad him on and get himself killed, or worse. But his mind and face changed in an instant. He cursed and disappeared, leaping upwards into the dark.

* * *

Pyro was at her side in a second. She could barely catch her breath. "You should have just let him do it!" she cried. 

He was taken aback. "What?!"

"You don't understand!"

"I think I understand enough to know that if I hadn't gotten here, you'd've been dead in another fucking minute! What the hell is wrong with you?"

She coughed, her breathing was staggered. "Oh Pyro! I know you saved my life! At least, though, if he had killed me or almost killed me it might have brought him back!" She shook her head vigorously and pointed upward. "That is _not_ Toad!" she cried. "That is not Toad!"

Pyro's blood pumped angrily. "That's funny, 'cause there a guy looks just like him who just _killing_ you a minute ago!"

Eden got up, refusing his help as she did so. She walked away saying, "You don't understand!"

"No fucking way, Eden! No fucking way!" He ran up to her and grabbed her. "Tell me what I don't understand! Cause, I'm pretty clear what I just saw, who I saw doing it and who's life I just fucking saved!"

Her shoulders fell and she put her hand on her forehead. "Pyro," she said quietly, "you can't possibly understand…or know what I know about him. Who he really is." She turned and faced him. "He's a…killer," she shrugged. "He likes to kill. But that's not all he is. There's more to him than the animal you just saw. Please," she begged, touching his face with her fingers, "believe me."

He shook his head. "It isn't fair to you…you can't change people. It's not your responsibility to make sure that everyone's alright."

Her eyes fell. "Yes it is."

He loosened his grip on her, and she started to walk away again. "Who's gonna take care of you?!" he called after her.

"I can take care of myself," she answered, without turning around again.

* * *

It was in the drawer, in the back. She had saved it during the battle with the Voice. She felt around and her hand enwrapped a single glass vial. She pulled it out and looked at it, her heart thumping with anticipation. The golden liquid that had tempted her for months sat idle in her hand, neither encouraging nor discouraging her. Every night she felt it near her. Everyday she was conscious that it was in her room. If anyone had known that she'd even considered using it, they would not have let her. The shock would kill her, they would say. She wouldn't be able to withstand it. 

Those had been valid warnings before, but now…

What did she have to lose?

If it killed her…she was not sure what would happen. Something inside of her knew that this was the only thing to do…the only method to snap him back to reality…even it killed her.

And if it didn't kill her…

Oh, God! The possibilities were terrifyingly tantalizing.

She clutched the Cure vial to her over-zealous heart, and felt it beat against her fist, as if it pumped life into the vial itself.

It grew warm in her grasp and her heart beat harder and faster against it, as if it were silently whispering, _Now is the time._


	9. Chapter 9: Cured

**Chapter 9: Cured **

There was a knock on his door. "Fuck off!" he shouted.

The door opened anyway, despite his admonition. He knew it was her, but he refused to look up.

"Pyro…can I talk to you?"

He did not answer. He wasn't so much ignoring her, as he was having trouble deciding what he should say, if anything. It must have seemed childish, to sit in silence and not answer her, but he did not have any words left.

So, Eden talked. "I want you to know that I'm sorry. I know how much I've hurt you." She waited for a response, he gave her none. "Anyway," she went on, "I just…wanted you to know that. I also…wanted you to understand that I _do_ love you." He looked up, but not at her. "But…I belong to Toad. He's part of me. I wish you could understand that. It doesn't mean that I…don't care for you."

He felt a surge of fire in him, a mix of hate, love, and utter pain. It was terrible.

"Oh, don't," she whispered. "I can't stand it."

He turned his head to her, looking at her with surprise. He had made no motion to signify his feelings, or any sound or gesture that might have given his emotions away. She looked wretched, pale and tired. He turned away from her again. Then he heard the door close.

He sat in the silence for some time. Somewhere is the world, there had to be someone that was happy. He envied them. Were they really happy though? Truly content? Was that possible?

For no particular reason, he remembered a conversation that he and Eden had had once, about God. He had claimed that he did not believe in God, and she had called him out on it. "Just because you're mad at God," she had said, "doesn't mean you don't believe in him."

Mad at God…hell yes, he was he mad at God.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked out loud.

He hadn't expected an answer. Strangely, however, he felt a sudden urge. He had to go to her—he had to let her know that it was alright. If he loved her, and he was sure he did, he had to let her know that it was alright. He stood up, this new urge like a motor in him, forcing him to his feet, to the door, and into the hallway.

Pryo had not planned this, or desired it, but somehow he knew without knowing why—he had to go to her.

_

* * *

And you, my dear, what are you called?_

"Jesus Christ! Get her off the floor!"

"No! don't touch her!"

_I have no name._

_He walks forward and extends his hand to her. She shakes it and feels the power in it. He holds it for a moment, as she makes the connection with him._

"What happened?" shouted Juggernaut from a thousand miles away. Echoing, echoing, echoing down the tunnels of her mind.

"Injected herself with something!"

_No name? Then I must give you one. Mystique shakes her head, but he does not see her. The others stand and stare._

"She's not breathing! FUCK!" Oh, poor Pyro. Poor Pyro.

No name? Give me a name!

"Jaida! Come on, girl! Come on!"

_What shall we call you?_

A force on her chest like an anvil.

"What…what's happening to her?"

_We'll call you Eden…_

The Change…somewhere, somehow, she knew she was changing…and she knew that she was not Eden anymore.

* * *

They had her on the table in the medical room. Juggernaut had carried her there in his hands, laid her there. Quicksilver stood over her, listening to her chest, performing CPR. She did not respond.

Magneto entered the room. He rushed to the bed and then stopped. He was watching her transform. Pyro saw how it frightened him. "Oh God…" was all he said. He stood there, and let the others do what needed to be done.

Juggernaut pulled out the defibrillator and Quicksilver attached the sticky pads to her chest. Once, twice, three times. "Jaida! Come on girl! Come on!" Juggernaut pleaded to her.

Pyro watched as her fangs were physically pulled back into her gums, becoming like normal teeth. Her skin turned white. And her eyes—they became blue with round, black pupils; skin grew over them, as she developed eyelids. And once that had happened, her eyes closed!

Her eyes closed! Nothing as yet had frightened him more, or made this situation seem more real to him than seeing that did.

* * *

He had heard the noise, the commotion. Voices, people running all around. It had not mattered to him, but he had been curious all the same.

And now that he was here, his mind was suddenly and forcibly cleared. The sounds and sights echoed around him, but all he saw was her, writhing and jolting on a table, and then… still, like death—not breathing, not moving, heart not beating.

At first it seemed that no one noticed him there, so concerned were they with Eden and what was happening to her. He felt it clutch at his heart—the helplessness. When he found the wherewithal to tear his eyes away from her immobile, yet changing form, he realized with swelling nausea, that Magneto's eyes were on him.

Toad met those gray, omniscient eyes and they drilled into his core like a thousand nails. _This is your fault_, they said. _Your fault. Look at what you've done._

The room came into his awareness like a train wreck! Voices, voices everywhere! Beeping. Slamming. Fear! He smelt it, tasted it. Fear! It was everywhere! He spun around, blindly slamming into Rogue as she entered the room. He muttered a confused apology and darted past her. He would throw up.

He raced to the roof, running through the hall and out the window, climbing hand over hand along the steel wall until he fell to his knees on the top of the building.

He clutched his stomach, dry heaving and coughing and knowing that Magneto's eyes were right! _My fault…my fault!_

Not a single tear escaped his eye—but he had never been more afraid in his life, more powerless and he had never known the feeling that he knew now—guilt…guilt…_my fault…_

Toad thought his heart would explode. He was having a heart attack. His soul would just burst out of his chest. He would hold his beating heart in his hand! His lungs refused to breath in. They only exhaled in wracking, heaving coughs that produced nothing. His stomach roiled, but he could not throw up. _My fault…my fault…_

* * *

When it was all over, her heart was beating again. She was breathing again—but not conscious. Her eerily closed eyes fluttered and moved, but otherwise, she was still. Quicksilver had run around the island seventeen times in the last hour, returning to her bedside after each lap, only to find her just as she had been five minutes before.

Juggernaut had been standing for as much time as had gone by since she had stabilized. He had not moved. Occasionally, his head fell forward and he snapped it back, surprised that sleep had come over him. At these moments, he would give his head a quick shake, shift from foot to foot, and then resume his original position, until he would start to fall asleep again.

Pyro sat by Eden's side, holding her white hands. Sometimes, he would wake up, finding himself with his head on the edge of her bed, and not being able to remember putting it there in the first place.

Rogue sat across the room, near the door, on the floor with her head against the wall. He could not be sure, but Pyro did not think she slept at all during that night.

After they had gotten her heart started again, and placed an oxygen mask on her face, Magneto had left the room without a word. Pyro had half a mind to think that he had gone out to find Toad and kill him. He never heard a sound to justify this theory, but he thought it all the same.

Pyro had almost pitied Toad when he'd seen him. The shock of seeing Eden on that bed was visible in his whole body, not just his face. He had turned a kind of green-white, shook uncontrollably. He looked half-mad, but it seemed to Pyro that Eden had been right. The Toad that had left finger-print bruises on Eden's white neck, and a hand-print on her face, did not seem to be the same Toad that had come into the hospital room and shaken with fear. All the same, whatever insane notion had gotten into Eden's head that had led her to Cure herself, its origin could be traced back to Toad, and the obsessive, dangerous relationship she had with him.

At some point, the sun rose. Light came mockingly into the room. It illuminated the inert figure on the bed, and every sleepless person in the room. The sky was azure, and a dove cooed lovingly in a nearby tree.

It was a terrible, beautiful day.

* * *

"Senator Duro."

"Ambassador McCoy," the Senator said stiffly. "And what brings you to my office on this splendid, sunny day? Shouldn't you be out enjoying it?"

"May I sit?"

"You're already shedding on my carpet. Must you do the same on my chairs?"

McCoy took a deep breath, but remained standing. "I would hate to cause an inconvenience."

Duro smirked. "Well, I suppose if you must sit down, you must sit down. Someone will have to come and vacuum in here anyway." He extended his hand to one of the chairs opposite his desk. McCoy took it with a magnanimous 'Thank you.' Duro nodded. "You really ought to carry a dust-buster with you, McCoy. Or at least a lint brush."

"Senator," McCoy said, a tone of slight exasperation in his voice, "can we speak seriously?"

"Of course," the Senator shrugged, "but I warn you, if you're here to discuss my motion to declare war on your people, there is nothing you can do to stop me. Even if you are the United Nations Ambassador."

"I'm not here as United Nations Ambassador, Senator. I'm here as a representative of the mutant community. I just happen to be able to pull enough significant strings to get an audience with you."

"McCoy," said Duro, "your President is weak. You may stand behind him for as long as you wish, but soon, he will step aside, and let the mob have you."

"You can't be serious about this war. What is it that you're really after?"

"This war _is_ serious! And it's already begun, long before I even considered declaring it officially. Are you really so blind to all that has been going on?"

"Tensions are high, yes, but there must be another—"

Duro began to laugh. "Tensions?" he repeated. "You call the disintegration of over four hundred men by one mutant's _mind_ in less than ten minutes _tensions_?!" He laughed again, a thick, mirthless laugh. "McCoy! Please!"

McCoy shifted uneasily. "That…was an isolated incident. Class five mutants are rare. And that mutant has been killed."

Duro raised an eyebrow. "Ah! I see. A compromise then. We kill all Class Five mutants to prevent another Alcatraz incident. Is that it?"

McCoy looked horrified. "My God! No! Not at all. But you cannot punish an entire race of people for the actions of a few."

"Of course I can't," Duro agreed. "But, there weren't a 'few' mutant terrorists on that island that day, were there? I think even you were there, McCoy."

The mutant's eyes widened. "I was there defending the laboratory, against Magneto."

"Can you prove that?"

His eyes widened still further. "What are you implying?"

Duro shrugged. "Nothing." He leaned back in his chair, and threw his pen down lightly on the desk. "Why are you here, McCoy?"

McCoy took another deep breath. "I came here so that we could talk like—"

"Humans?" Duro grinned.

"_People_," McCoy retaliated. "But you are so consumed by your hate, and so full of your own importance, that you can't see the danger that you are putting yourself and this entire nation in."

"I see the danger that it's _already_ in, McCoy. The threat that you and your people pose to it." He rose from his chair. "Now, get out of my office."

The mutant rose. "Just know, that if you succeed in starting this, you won't be able to stop it."

"Good bye, _Ambassador_," Duro said scathingly.

As McCoy was leaving, Duro called after him. "I hear they call you Beast, your people. Is that true?"

McCoy stopped, but did not turn around. "Yes, it's true. I pray you never find out why."

"I think it suits you."

McCoy straightened up. He seemed to wrestle with himself about what to do, and then decided to leave without another word.

Duro watched him go and as soon as his door closed, he pressed the intercom button. "Amy, get someone in here with a vacuum and a bottle of Febreeze. It smells like a wet dog in here. Oh, and come in here and open my windows." A static "Yes sir," responded automatically and Amy entered.

She went over to the windows and opened two of them, to get a cross breeze. "Look at all this fur!" Duro declared. "And blue, at that! Why blue? Is there any animal in nature that is blue?"

Amy crossed her arms. "The blue jay," she suggested.

"Somehow I don't think McCoy's animal nature is bird-like in origin," Duro responded wryly. Amy shrugged. He eyed her curiously. "Amy, does he frighten you at all? McCoy, I mean."

She thought about it. "I guess so. I don't know. I don't go crawling under my desk, or anything. But…he makes me kind of nervous, I guess."

"Amy, do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

She nodded. "I think so, sir. If they're really as dangerous as I've heard, I think you have to. Even if it's hard."

Duro picked up his pen and tapped the side of his face with it. "Alright," he said suddenly. "Where's the guy with the vacuum?"

"I'll get him right away, sir," said Amy.

Duro watched her leave the room, closing the door behind her.

He was doing the right thing. He knew he was.

_

* * *

In my sleep_

_I cry for you_

_Don't you know?_

_I would die for you._

_I can't explain_

_All the pain_

_That I've given you_

_But just see_

_It's all of me_

_That I give to you._


	10. Chapter 10: Wake

**Chapter 10: Wake**

Pyro jolted awake and found that, except for Eden, he was alone. He looked down at the figure on the bed; she was unchanged. He held her cold white hand in both of his. By the look of the day outside, he guessed it was after noon. A salty breeze blew in from the open window. It chilled him. He pulled the covers tighter around Eden and went to close the window.

Below him, the sea churned and doubled over itself, splashing and dashing against their fortress of steel and stone. He thought about all that had happened since he'd first seen it from the inside of a helicopter—he had been so sure of Magneto and of everything that the Brotherhood stood for—acting with a righteous anger against those that had persecuted his kind for a decade or more.

He remembered that fateful day, at Bobby Drake's house, when the police had shot Logan and ordered the rest of them to hit the ground or get shot, too. He remembered Rogue and Bobby getting to their knees, prostrating themselves in front of those less powerful than they, those men with their guns. He remembered exactly what he'd thought. They'd yelled at him to 'get down, they didn't want to hurt him!' And he had known, at that moment, that, yes, they did want to hurt him and he, more than anything, wanted to hurt them. He had refused to bow. It was on that day that his powers had exploded from inside of him in a way that Xavier had never allowed them.

Pyro leant his head against the window bars. "I am a god among insects," he whispered aloud, recalling the words Magneto had said to him on the X-Jet. A shuffling noise behind him brought him back to the present. He turned.

It was Toad.

"Get out of here!" he yelled at him.

Toad was leaning over Eden's bed, not touching her and clearly having difficulty looking at her. He looked up, bleary-eyed, at Pyro. "Is she sleeping or…." He choked back the end of that sentence.

"Sleeping," Pyro answered, furious. "Now get out."

Toad looked down at her again. "You know, I did that," he said, pointing to her bruises. "Me." Pyro said nothing. He just watched. "I _hurt_ her," he went on, with surprise in his voice. "My Eden…" He reached to touch her, but could not bring himself to go through with it. "Will she be alright?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I don't know," Pyro answered. "She almost died."

Toad grimaced. "Will you…tell me when she wakes up?"

"If she wants me to," he replied, stiffly.

Toad nodded. "Right. You're her protector now, is that it?"

"Somebody has to protect her from you," he found himself saying.

Pyro was sure that if he had said something like that to Toad yesterday, he would have had a serious fight on his hands. Now, all the other man did was consider Pyro's comment and nod, as if agreeing with it. Then, he turned and left the room.

Quicksilver appeared seconds after. "Pyro, Magneto's having a pow-wow."

"What?"

"He wants you there. In his office. Me, Juggernaut, Hawk, you…Rogue'll stay with Eden."

Pyro shook his head. "No, I'm staying here."

Quicksilver tilted his head. "You can't, man. He asked for you. The Senate passed that declaration of war thing. The President has to sign off on it."

Rogue stepped into the room. "It's alright, John. I'll watch her."

Pyro bit his lip and looked over at Eden. "Goddammit. I'm coming." Rogue stepped up to Eden's bed. "Be careful. Toad's around."

Rogue looked very serious. "Yeah. I can handle him."

"Ok," he said. He took one more look at Eden, and then followed Quicksilver out of the door.

* * *

Rogue leaned her chair against the wall, putting her head back. She was exhausted, but refused to sleep. It occurred to her, just then, that until this moment she had had almost no time to herself, to be with herself and think…alone. Eden was there, but she wasn't there. Rogue's memories and thoughts poured over her, unbidden and overwhelming.

First, she thought of Logan, and how disappointed and angry he must be with her. She pictured the day she'd met him, the fight cage, the hideous trailer…how he'd almost left her in the middle of nowhere, and then helped her out anyway. How he'd become a protector to her, her only friend during a time when friendship was as necessary to her survival as food and water.

She remembered how afraid she had been when she'd first seen Magneto, when she'd realized that Logan was powerless in front of him, and how absolutely alone she had felt in that moment. Waking up in the helicopter, being bitten by Eden and put under again. She remembered pleading with Toad to led her go…and how he had laughed.

But the other, stranger thing that she remembered was when, just before Magneto had transferred his powers into her, he had said, "I'm sorry, my dear." She had thought at the time that he had been mocking her. Now, she could not be sure.

Rogue did not love Magneto, or Toad, or any of the members of the Brotherhood. She had a kind of affection for Pyro, built on an older association with him. She cared about Eden and it bordered on a love for her, because she had been so helpful to her. She was starting to like Juggernaut because he made her laugh.

But, no, she did not love them. Rogue loved Logan, and Bobby, and Storm and she had loved Scott, Jean and the Professor. She loved them so much. But her love for them was not enough to make them right—they were wrong about everything. About humans and mutants co-existing, about pandering to human perceptions of their kind, about Magneto and the Brotherhood.

They were wrong. Magneto was right. He had almost killed her, he had hurt everyone she had ever loved—but he was right. She was strong enough to look beyond her own personal vendetta against him and see the bigger picture. What she saw was a majority population of non-mutants who felt threatened by mutants, and the memories downloaded into her brain from Magneto's tortured mind was enough to reveal to her what that meant for the minority if they just sat back and waited.

Rogue knew she had been forcibly brought here by the latent memories of a dead woman, but now that she herself was here, she knew she would not leave. She also knew that she would have to fight against those that she loved to stand up for what she believed in.

"Deep…thoughts?"

Rogue blinked and looked over at the bed. "Eden. You're awake!" She was happy to see her awake, happy to know that Eden had survived such an ordeal. She walked over to her. "Are you…are you alright?"

From underneath the oxygen mask, Rogue saw Eden smile without the familiar pointed teeth protruding from under her top lip as she did so. "Sorry…if I…scared anyone…" she murmured breathlessly.

Rogue shook her head. "Don't…just…just don't do it again," she said.

"Is she awake?!" Pyro cried from the doorway, rushing to her bed.

"Yeah…yeah…" Rogue answered. But he had seen for himself, and ignored her. She watched Pyro try to hold back the emotion she knew he was feeling, as he grabbed her hand in joy and kissed it. It was best, she felt, to leave him alone with her. She departed, unnoticed.

* * *

"Would you…take this stupid thing…off me?" Eden asked.

"What? The O2 mask? I don't think so."

Eden nodded. "Please," she begged. "Just for a minute. I don't…need it."

He sighed and reluctantly did as she asked. He put it beside her. She breathed in shallow, aching breaths. Suddenly, she frowned fearfully. "Pyro…" she said with panic in her voice.

"What is it? You ok?"

She raised a hand in front of her face. "I don't know. I keep…I keep seeing these dark flashes."

"Dark flashes?"

She nodded, blinking furiously. "It's like…there…it keeps happening. There's sudden darkness every couple of seconds." She blinked again. "There! It happened again."

"Oh Jesus," he said, laughing, "you're blinking, Eden."

She stared at him as he laughed. "I'm what? What's happening?"

Still laughing, he pointed to his own eyes. "Watch," he instructed. He closed his eyes and opened them again. "Blinking," he said.

Eden touched her eyes, poking at her eyelids. "Oh God…" she said, "what the hell did I do?"

He turned suddenly serious. "You Cured yourself." He crossed his arms. "You gonna tell me why?"

"You wouldn't understand," she answered.

He curled his lips. "Is it because of Toad? Some convoluted plan to save him?"

"You wouldn't understand," she said again.

"What wouldn't I understand, Eden?!" he yelled. "Tell me! Let me try! 'Cause, what I understand right now, is that last night, you almost died, and that if I hadn't've come when I had, you would've died! What the hell kind of hold does this guy have on you that…that you'd fucking kill yourself to make him feel better?! That's sick, Eden, you know that! It's fucking sick!"

She was quiet. He almost regretted what he'd said, but he thought it might be sinking in. She looked up at the ceiling, trying to keep her eyes open as long as possible before she was forced to blink. Then she said, "Has he…did he come? Has he been here?"

Pyro's heart boiled. He wanted to scream. "No," he said. "He never came. He knew and he didn't come," he said.

Eden's eyes reddened and flooded. A single tear escaped.

He took her hand. "But…I've been here. All night. All morning. I left for twenty minutes because Magneto wanted to see me, that's all though, I swear. Besides that, I haven't left your side. I haven't slept."

She said nothing. She continued to stare at the ceiling. Then she said, "What did Magneto want to see you about?"

Pyro felt a choking sensation in his throat and released her hand. "The…um…Senate passed that war declaration. The President just needs to sign it. Magneto wants to set up an offensive to be ready to attack D.C. if he does. He wants some people in D.C. to keep track of the situation. I'm going. Or at least, he wants me to."

At last, she looked at him. "Why you?"

He shrugged. "'Cause I look human. Me and some other normal looking mutants are going to stay inside the city. One of them has super hearing, the other can walk through walls…actually, he can kind of become part of walls, which could definitely come in handy."

"And you?" she asked.

"I'm in charge. Keep people in line."

"He trusts you again."

"Yeah, I guess he does."

She nodded. "That's good."

He gazed intently at her. "Yeah." He got up.

"Where are you going?"

"I better pack, if I'm going to D.C." He walked to the door and she called to him. "What?" he asked.

"Thank you…for taking care of me," she said.

Pyro tried to think of a reply, but none came. He simply nodded and left.

* * *

Magneto walked out onto the roof. Toad was crouched on the ledge looking out at nothing, rocking gently back and forth. His mouth was moving slightly, as if he were speaking, but Magneto did not hear any words.

As Magneto neared him, he heard him say, "Finally."

"Finally what?" Magneto asked, stopping.

"You've come to kill me. For what I did."

"No, Toad, I haven't."

His hands flew to his face. "Why not?!" he hissed through his fingers.

Magneto stepped up just behind him. "Because I won't make it that easy for you, Mortimer."

Toad shuddered at the sound of his own name. Magneto sat down on the ledge beside him, dangling his feet over the edge. "Do you remember when I came for you? At the orphanage? You had just killed someone. You remember?"

"Yeah."

"A boy…your age. You'd kicked him inside out, completely by accident."

"I remember," Toad answered hoarsely.

"And I asked you, why did you do that, Mortimer? And you answered—"

"Because I needed to," Toad finished, looking over at him.

Magneto nodded. "I asked you how you felt about it. Do you remember what you said?"

Toad looked away. "No," he said stiffly.

"You do, you just don't want to."

"I was a kid," he said.

Magneto put his hand on Toad's shoulder. "'I liked it, sir. It felt pretty damn good. I'd like to do it again.'"

"Jesus Christ," Toad whispered. "What the hell am I?"

"You never cared about what you were until you met Eden. You never questioned yourself or thought about what you did, or why you did it. Eden is the first person you didn't enjoy hurting."

"I love her."

"I know. Soon, though, I'm going to need you back. You, Toad…the killer who doesn't think about who he kills, who enjoys killing, who wants to kill, who needs to kill. I need that man back."

Toad nodded. "You've got him. You always will."

Magneto stood up. "We've all hurt the people that we love, Toad. All of us."

He looked up at Magneto. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale green. "She…she'll be alright, won't she?"

"I don't know."

He gazed out into the bleak sky. "What do you need me to do?"

"What you do best."

"Kill."

"Yes," Magneto answered solemnly.

"I'm a killer."

"We can't help what we are."

Toad nodded. "I'm a killer. You're a leader." He looked up. "What is she?"

Magneto looked down at Toad, at that most loyal soldier, that most ruthless man, and all he saw was the fear of a young boy peeking out from behind the madness that lurked just behind the hearts in his eyes. "I don't know Toad."

Magneto turned away and came face to face with Pyro. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"She's awake."

Toad nearly fell off the ledge. "Is she alright?" he asked.

"She's ok," Pyro answered. He looked back at Magneto. "She doesn't want to see him," he said.

Magneto looked back at Toad. "Did she say that?"

"Yeah," said Pyro, "she said 'Don't let him come near me.' I thought I should tell you," he nodded towards Magneto, "since I'm leaving soon and I can't protect her from him while I'm gone."

"Oh, no, no," Toad moaned, hiding his face in his hands.

"I'm going down to see her," Magneto said to Pyro. "Don't do anything stupid."

Pyro glared at Toad. "Yeah," he answered.

* * *

When Magneto was gone, Pyro smiled and said, "I didn't want to tell Magneto her exact words. You want to hear them?"

Toad said nothing, but he looked up at Pyro with wild eyes.

"She said, 'Don't let that bastard come anywhere near me. I hate him. I hate him.'"

"She didn't say that."

"Yeah, she did."

Toad sobbed relentlessly into his hands, mumbling incoherently. It was pathetic.

Pyro flicked his lighter and brought a ball of fire close to Toad's face. "Come on, give me a reason. She said she hated you and that she loved me."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"She hates you. She wants to be with me."

Toad seethed. He had his hands balled into fists and his teeth bared like an animal.

Pyro stood closer to him, so that the fire in his hand seemed to glow in Toad's eyes. Then, he let it go out, and turned away, walking towards to door. "Oh, and she said," he laughed, turning back, "she said I'm ten times better in bed than you."

For a moment, it seemed that that had worked. That he'd provoked Toad to the breaking point. He rushed at him, hands ready to snap Pyro's neck. Pyro ignited a fireball, also ready. But, then, Toad just stopped. "I can't…" he said. "She loves you. If I kill you…it'll hurt her…I can't…."

"You fucking coward!" Pyro screamed. "Fight me!"

Toad ran, but away from Pyro, not towards him. He jumped off the roof, and into a nearby tree and disappeared.


	11. Chapter 11: Touch

Chapter 11: Touch

Had it been a week?

Eden dropped her legs over the side of the bed and felt the cold floor under her feet. Pyro had left for Washington, D.C. along with four other mutants on the recon mission. She had not seen Toad since that night by the pools. She touched her throat. The bruises were still there, fainter now, but there. Her cheekbone was no longer swollen, but it was a nasty sea-green color. Eden stood upright and walked unsteadily around the hospital room. Her muscles were weakened by too much time in bed.

"Hey," a soft, Southern voice said. "You're up."

Eden nodded to Rogue. "I'm up."

"How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, I think." Eden raised herself up and down on her tiptoes. "Yeah, better." She paused and raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be training?"

Rogue looked uncomfortable. "I don't really see the point. If y'all attack D.C., I don't think I should go."

"Why not?"

She tapped the side of her head.

Eden smirked. "That's not why. Marvel would want to go to D.C. She'd want to fight. She wouldn't hold you back."

Rogue sat on the edge of the hospital bed. "That _is _it," she insisted. "If I go, I want to be me. If I'm not, I might do something that...I'd regret. Marvel wouldn't care if..."

Eden leaned against the bed, next to Rogue. "If she killed your friends."

Rogue nodded. "But _I _would. I couldn't do it."

"You need to learn to separate yourself from Marvel. To separate yourself from your powers."

"From my powers?" Rogue looked confused. "How can I do that?"

"How can you do anything? How can you move your arm? How can you walk? How can you think? You control these things. You focus and you control."

"I can't control my heartbeat."

Eden shrugged. "Maybe you can't stop it from beating. But you can slow it down, speed it up, by controlling your emotions, by breathing. You can tell yourself to calm down. You can tell yourself not to hurt people when you touch them. You're letting your circumstances control you. Your powers, Marvel's memories. Make them _part _of you, control _them_. Use them. Don't be used _by _them."

Rogue looked down at her gloved hands and stared at them for a long moment. "How?"

Eden reached for her hand and started to remove her glove. Instinctively, Rogue pulled her hands away. "No! What are you doing?"

"You don't want to hurt me. Right?"

Rogue was horrified. "Of course not!"

Eden smiled. "Then don't." She pulled off Rogue's glove and took her bare hand in hers before Rogue could gather her thoughts and stop her. Eden's grip was surprisingly strong. Rogue saw the veins in her hands bulge slightly as Rogue's powers took effect.

"Don't...be scared. Don't...let...let it hurt me. Stop it," Eden said tightly, fighting against Rogue's power.

Rogue's first impulse in the seconds that followed was to hit Eden, to try and break her grip. But Eden wasn't letting go and Rogue was afraid to hurt her more than she'd already been hurt.

"Focus...on your power...where is it...coming from?" Eden let go, gasping for breath. "My God..." she breathed.

"I'm sorry!" Rogue said.

"No! Focus! Where do you feel your power?"

"Eden—!"

"Focus!" Eden said sternly.

Rogue was confused, she felt aimless and frightened. She tried to breathe. When she was able to breathe deeply, she suddenly knew. "In my chest..." she said. "It's like...it starts there and radiates out...like...an explosion or something. I'm always so scared. I never thought about it like that. The first time it happened..." She bit her lip, a little embarrassed.

"It's ok," Eden assured her. "Keep going."

Rogue sighed. "I was sixteen. I was with this boy that I really, really liked. He was cute, funny. And then, he kissed me. I kissed _him_...I guess it happened at the same time. Anyway, _we _kissed. And...I remember now. That feeling in my chest...I thought it was because I was excited to be, you know, having my first kiss. Because I was in love...or whatever. But that wasn't it. It was my power."

Eden had caught her breath. "Ok," she said. "Take my hand."

Rogue shook her head. "I can't..."

"Take my hand and when you feel your power, try and hold it where it is. Tell it to stay where it is. Come on," she held out her hand.

Rogue took a deep breath. Shaking her head, she reached out and took Eden's hand. At the moment of contact, less afraid now than before, she felt that burst inside her chest. _No,_ she told herself, _hold back. Stay._ It felt like she was humming on the inside, like her power was a dog in a cage, unable to get out, but pacing and growling, waiting for its moment. She hadn't realized that she'd closed her eyes, but she suddenly opened them and was facing Eden. Eden, who was breathing normally and whose veins were not bulging, and whose mouth was turned up in a knowing smile.

"Oh my God," Rogue whispered. There, in that hospital room in Magneto's infamous Lair, by a woman she barely knew, Rogue was being touched for the first time in more than five years, except for that brief time when she'd been "cured," and not through clothing or layers of fabric, but by the warm skin of another person...and for the first time in five years, her touch wasn't killing the person she was touching.

Until it was.

Eden gasped. Her veins bulged, and, unbidden, a memory was pulled from her mind to Rogue's, an intimate memory.

_Toad touched her shoulder and she shivered inside at the feel of his fingers against her bare skin. He kissed her shoulder in the same spot and worked his way up her neck, little, delicate kisses that belied the strength and power of the man who administered them. _

"_You are my divine goddess," he whispered in her ear before he kissed along her lobe. She felt him smell her hair, kiss the back of her neck. Then he was in front of her, naked to the waist and she touched and kissed his chest, using her tongue to lick and caress. She was eye level with him, and they were kneeling on a bed. He looked at her and ran his fingers through her hair. Then he took her face in his hands and kissed her. His lips on her lips...the sensation...was..._

Rogue broke away. "Oh God...I'm sorry..."

Eden was shaking. She lay back on the bed. "It's ok," she breathed, "it's ok. You did it. You just lost control because...you were...surprised."

"I know...I know. But...the memory...that was private. I'm sorry."

Eden was blushing. She didn't look angry. "It's alright." She looked up at Rogue with a proud glint in her eye. "You looked away before it really got interesting."

Rogue stared, goggle-eyed at her.

Then, they both laughed, a little nervously, but laughed nonetheless. "Toad is..." Eden stopped. Her face shadowed and the happiness that the memory seemed to have given her disappeared as present day and newer memories took its place. "Talented," she finished.

Rogue looked at her with some sympathy, but also with some bewilderment. "He's different...was different in the memory than in..." She paused. "I was going to say 'real life'...but that was real life." She paused again, wondering if she should continue with this train of thought. How much should she say? "But...he also did that to you. Those bruises. So...which Toad is real?"

Eden touched her bruised face absently. "They're both real. The lover and the killer..." She was lost in thought, and then back again. "But the point is, you did it. You just need to practice. But with someone else...like Juggernaut or something. I don't think your could do too much damage to him."

Rogue nodded. "Okay," she said, thinking about something else as she said it, still feeling the warm sensuousness of the stolen memory. "What about you and Pyro?"

Eden stiffened slightly, almost imperceptibly. "Me and Pyro?"

"I think he's in love with you."

"So does he," she said vaguely.

"Did you guys...I mean..." She saw the look on Eden's face and stopped. "Never mind, it's none of my business."

"Why do you want to know about me and Pyro?"

Rogue blinked and shrugged. "I don't know. Just curious, I guess."

"You care about him."

Again, she shrugged. "We were friends...back when we were at the mansion. For a while I thought he liked me. But, then there was Bobby." She stopped, her throat tight. She shook her head to clear it. "Anyway, yeah, I care about him. It's weird, for a while I hated him because he'd joined Magneto. And I hated Magneto. But everything's different now. Everything..."

Yes, everything was suddenly, painfully and almost unbearably different. When she stopped to think about the past few weeks, juxtaposed to the past few years, Rogue felt herself start to panic. It was like the day she'd realized she was a mutant. She'd almost killed someone. In one moment, she'd gone from a blissful and blindly in love teenager, to a freak, of whom even her parents were afraid. A freak who suddenly had no place in her own life.

So, she'd left it. She'd left her whole life and started a new one. And now, she'd had to leave that one, too. A _new_ new life. Everything had changed...again.

"Rogue, what are you feeling?" Eden asked.

Her hand flew to her chest. The newly discovered center of her power was also the center of her panic. "I'm scared," she whispered. And Marvel was scared, too. At last, they had something in common.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could help you."

"You do help me. When I'm with you, I usually feel pretty calm."

Eden looked down with what appeared to be shame. "But not now, right?" She shook her head. "I can't even begin to try to help you. It's like being blind."

Rogue frowned, wondering what Eden meant. Then, she thought of the Professor, of how his telepathic skills could help sort through confusion and muddled memories. "What do you mean? Are you...were you telepathic?"

"No." She bit her lip with her de-fanged teeth, a normal action made abnormal by the absence of the unusual. "I can..._could_ read...no, _experience_...other people's feelings. And the deeper the feeling, the more..." Eden clasped her hands together, searching for the words. "It's like swimming, immersing yourself in cool water. It holds you, it surrounds you. It feels safe. Sometimes, the waters are rough and you're drowning...but even then...the power..." Her hands were open now, and she gazed helplessly at Rogue. "I can't explain it."

"Could you change people's feelings? Could you...I felt like you could calm me down, just by looking at me."

"Yes and no. I was able to...absorb an emotion. Like, when you help someone carry something. You don't hold all of it, you hold half of it. And it makes the other person's job easier. I can help people carry their feelings...if they need it." She paused again, and looked around. "I've never told anyone."

"Why not?"

"I think it would make people uncomfortable if they thought I was manipulating their emotions. Because, I _could_ do that, you know. I could make you feel so at ease, you'd barely mind if I killed you."

Put that way, it did make Rogue uncomfortable. But no more so than she'd been when she'd first learned of the Professor's and Jean's powers. That kind of power in wrong hands could be exploited and had been, come to think of it, by Jean herself...

"It's ok," she found herself saying. "I get it. I won't tell anyone. But...why did you tell me? Did Toad know?"

"No," she said quietly, "but I told you because...maybe I'll never have that power again and there's no one else to talk to about it. And because, I just felt you'd understand. I thought you'd get what it was like to feel feelings that weren't yours. It can be a blessing, you know. You just have to let yourself experience it. At first, I was frightened by that part of my powers. I found it overwhelming. But now, when I'm with someone who feels deeply, it's like a drug almost. I just experience that...depth...and it's...amazing."

And then, just then, Rogue completely understood. She smiled a little. "Toad," was all she said.

Eden nodded.

* * *

Pyro was damp with sweat and shaking. He pushed himself up and out and lay on his back, breathing quickly.

Caruthers leaned up on her elbow. She kissed his cheek. He didn't look at her. He couldn't. He was sick to his stomach.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he lied, "I'm just tired."

She looked dubious. "Yeah, sex'll do that do you." She lay back down, on her side. "You wanna talk about it?"

Pyro stared at the ceiling. "Talk about what?"

"Whatever you're thinking about."

The ceiling was cracked in places. The room was cold. He was thinking about another cheap, cold hotel room, another cracked ceiling and another woman, a long time ago. "I'm not thinking about anything."

Caruthers sighed and shook her head. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. "Yeah, whatever," she said, as she started to get dressed.

"Hey," he said, feeling horrible, "I'm sorry. I'm thinking about a lot of things."

Her back was facing him. She had a beautiful back. "Yeah? Like what?"

"Like...what kind of a name is Caruthers?"

She sniffed a laugh. "It's my last name."

"Why don't you have a mutant name?"

Caruthers shrugged, and turned back to him. "What kind of mutant name do give someone who can alter gravity?"

Pyro thought about it. "How about...Gravitas?"

She rolled her eyes. "You are so lame." She started dressing again.

"You can stay if you want to," Pyro made himself say.

Caruthers got up. She hadn't put her bra on. She cocked an eyebrow, gathered her shoes, socks and underwear, looked at him and said, "I'd stay if _you _wanted me to."

Pyro held her gaze for a moment, then had to look away.

"That's what I thought," Caruthers said. He heard her walk away and the door closed a moment later.

"Jesus Christ, John," he muttered to himself.

* * *

Rogue was walking through a tunneled passage way, towards the room they'd given her to sleep in. It was dark and all she could hear was the ocean and a strong wind blowing around the Lair, howling like it wanted to get in. She ran her hands up and down her arms in a futile attempt to get warm.

He dropped down in front of her so suddenly, she gasped. Her instinct was to scream and run, but she settled for a step back.

Toad's eyes were red and his face was a paler green. His jaw was tight and his nostrils flared as he breathed heavily, liked he'd just been running. Rogue was breathing faster, now, too, waiting for whatever came next, contemplating what moves she would have to make if he decided to attack her.

"Rogue," he said. And it occurred to her that he had never called her by her name. She was always "girl" or "that bitch." She felt her defenses lower slightly.

"What do you want?" she asked tentatively.

He took a step closer to her. Having seen him through Eden's eyes, he didn't look as hideous as she had always thought him to be. And she had felt his kisses. She was less afraid of him now than she had ever been. But maybe that had been Eden's mistake. "Is she alright?" Toad asked, quietly and with some fear. "It's been a week...since she woke up."

"Yes. You knew she was awake? Where have you been? You haven't seen her."

Toad shook his head. "I can't."

The memory from Eden's mind was so strong, it felt almost like her own memory. "You have to."

He looked down and away, then back at her. "You're taking care of her?"

Rogue shrugged. "I'm trying. She took care of me."

"I would have killed you."

"I know."

Toad stared at her. He seemed to want to say something, but was stopping himself.

"Toad," Rogue said, stepping closer, cautiously, "she loves you."

"No," he mumbled.

She reached out and touched his arm, lightly. It was hard, like rock, and she saw him in her mind, naked to the waist, how strong and well-formed his body was. She was very close to him and he wasn't ugly; he was weirdly handsome and his eyes were heavy with confusion and despair. He looked at her with surprise as her hand tightened on his arm. "She loves you more than anything in the world."

And Rogue knew that that was true. She had felt it in her own soul. But Toad's eyes were joyless. "You know what I am," he said. "You saw it."

The memory of the boy kicked inside-out, of Toad's enjoyment, of the blood... it filled her mind again. She grimaced. And Toad saw it.

"You see?" he said. "How could she really love me?"

He was in the air in a moment, jumping away from her, out of reach and out of sight. "Toad!" she called.

There was only silence in reply.

* * *

Magneto entered the hospital room and saw Eden before she saw him. She looked up from her leg-strengthening exercises. "Hi," she said.

He was still angry with her and she knew it, but he was glad she was moving about and exercising. "Eden," he said. "How are you feeling?"

She stood up. "A lot better."

"Good," Magneto nodded. "I need you to do something for me."

"Of course."

He looked closely at her and then away. "I hate to ask you to do this, because I know you're recovering."

"I'm feeling much better," Eden insisted.

"We've lost contact with Pyro. We haven't heard from him in three days." He waited to see how this news affected her. Her weird, human blue eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed. She said nothing. "I need someone to go to Washington to find out what has happened. Someone who looks..." He gestured toward her.

"Human," Eden finished.

"Yes." He paused. "The only other person here, besides myself, who can pass as human is Rogue. I can't send her on her own because I'm not sure I can trust her, and I can't send you on your own because you have no way to defend yourself. So, I am sending both of you. She'll protect you and you'll watch her."

"I'll be totally helpless," Eden said quietly. "Being here without my powers is one thing...but out there..."

"Well, if you hadn't Cured yourself, this wouldn't even be an issue," he said, and heard himself unexpectedly yelling.

Eden was quiet for a moment, her eyes fixed on the floor. Then, she whispered, "If I hadn't cured myself, who would you send?"

He stared wide-eyed at her. When had she become defiant? It had started with Pyro, the day they'd seen him on television, when she'd insisted they mount a rescue. It had all spiraled out of control since then, and once again Pyro was the center of another difficult decision, another argument, and with Eden...of all people. He was about to speak, when she said, "I'll go...of course, I'll go. I'll do whatever you ask."

Magneto stood and turned to leave, saying, "You'll leave in two hours. Hawk and Juggernaut will take you by boat. After that, you're on your own. The hotel is easy to find from the marina."

"Wait, sir, please," Eden called. "I need you to understand."

He faced her. "I understand. You explained it already."

"Can't you forgive me?"

Magneto stared at her for an eternal moment. Eden had always been there. She sought him after he fell, despite her own weaknesses. She had been loyal, brave, loving and kind. She had been his friend, his most loyal companion...and something more than that...something that he couldn't define. She had loved him. She had represented, in some strange way, the best and truest part of himself.

And she had almost taken her own life, not with that intention, perhaps, but still, she had done it. He knew now, even if she didn't, that Eden's love for Toad outweighed her love for him, Magneto. Eden had accepted the fact that Curing herself could very well have killed her, could very well have removed her from Magneto's life completely and utterly...and she'd done it anyway. She'd done it...for Toad. Could he forgive her?

"No," Magneto said. "No, I can't."

The last thing he saw before he left that room were the tears gathering in Eden's strange, blue eyes.

* * *

Juggernaut was watching Eden. She had been very quiet during this journey, had barely spoken since they'd left the Island. The sea was wide and vacant and the Lair had long since disappeared behind them. Eden was leaning against the rail of the boat. The sea sprayed her face and her hair was wet. She was beautiful, standing there like that, but not herself. Her green skin, now white; her unfamiliar blue eyes, made bluer by the sky mirrored on the ocean's surface—it was all so odd, and yet, her face had not changed, except in color, her expressions familiar and comforting behind that temporary human visage.

At least, he hoped it was temporary. There was always a chance that she might stay that way forever. He hoped not, he truly did. It was more than just her appearance he missed; she..._felt_ different. Her presence...he couldn't explain it. He could only feel and sense it; she was different, not only in body, but in mind and heart.

"Strange, isn't it?" Hawk said.

"What?" Juggernaut asked, his thoughts broken into.

"To see her like that. I first thought it odd to see green skin...now I think it odd to see white."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I was just finkin' that."

"I know. You've been staring at her for almost an hour."

He blinked. "Shit, sorry." He turned to face Hawk. "I guess I've always had a soft spot for 'er. I'm worried about 'er."

Hawk leaned his winged back against the rail and rested his elbows on it, his wings rustling in the wind as the boat sped towards its destination. "She's better off, you know."

Juggernaut bristled. "Better off? Human?"

Hawk shook his head. "No, not that." He looked at Eden, and Juggernaut's gaze followed his. "You can still see the bruises on her neck. She's better off away from the Island, away from him. Don't you think?"

"I don't know. They..." He broke off. He agreed with Hawk. He'd beaten the shit out of Toad when he'd learned what he'd done to Eden. He'd seen Toad and Eden together. How could he have done that to her? But then again... "They had somefing, Hawk. Don' know what it was...or even if it was healthy...or whatever...but still..."

Hawk breathed a derisive, humourless laugh through his nose. "No woman should be treated in that manner." He pushed himself off the rail and walked back to the controls.

Juggernaut walked down the stairs from the control cabin to where Eden was standing. "Jaida?" he said, quietly.

"Hey," she said back, with a small smile.

"Come 'ere ofen?" he joked.

She laughed a little. "What's it to you?"

"Don' know. Girl like you, guy like me. Think we stand a chance in this crazy world?"

She laughed again, then turned her face back to the sea and her expression sobered. "Magneto's angry with me," she said quietly.

"Yeah? Well, so am I."

"Cain—"

"No, no, you listen to me, girl," he said, with as much compassion as sternness. "You don't do something like Cure yourself, and almost die, wivout a lot of people getting upset about it, right?"

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not," he retorted. "And you shouldn't be. I get it."

Eden turned to him, her face hopeful. "You do?"

"Yeah," he said, "I get it." He watched the water speed by as he spoke. "I was there. I saw what 'appened when he saw you. It was like he'd been on 'oliday in pyscho land and woke up in that fuckin 'ospital room. When you were dieing, he came back. I saw it. In 'is face, everyfing. After that, Toad wasn't exactly the same as he 'ad been...none of us were...but he wasn't...crazy anymore. That's what you wanted, right?"

When she didn't answer, he turned his head to look at her. Her face was dark and she was frowning deeply, her mouth and jaw tight with anger. "Jaida?"

"Toad..." she said, and seemed to choke. She tried again. "Toad was...there? He saw me? He was there?"

"Yeah," Juggernaut said. He saw her hands tighten on the rail, her knuckles white. "What is it? What's wrong?"

As if by magic, Eden loosed her grip on the rail and her expression became neutral. "Nothing...I'm tired. I need to rest. I'm going to go lie down." She started to walk away, but he took her arm gently and tried to pull her back. "I'm fine, Cain," she said.

"No, you're not," he said, but let go. She gave an unconvincing smile and walked to the stairs that led below deck. "He loves you, you know. I saw it."

She stopped suddenly, her back and neck rigid. Without turning around, she nodded stiffly, then kept walking until she disappeared below deck.

* * *

Eden had been quiet on the journey from the Lair to the marina. But on the Metro ride from the marina to the hotel, she had been utterly silent, except to say, "Nothing," when Rogue asked what was wrong.

But something was wrong and it was palpable.

They walked to the hotel, a second rate Motel 6 kind of building, with few amenities and little to recommend it. Rogue knocked on the door that was supposed to be Pyro's. After a few trys, he opened it. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw them. "Shit," he said, "I'm glad to see you."

Eden looked at Rogue and said, "Give me a minute?"

Rogue was confused. "Okay..." she said.

Pyro was looking at Eden and he seemed less confused about Eden's coldness and rigidity than she was. "Yeah," he said. "Rogue, Caruther's is in the next room. She'll let you in, give you something to drink."

Rogue shrugged, "Okay, whatever." She walked towards the room Pyro had indicated. Before she knocked on the door, she saw Eden push past Pyro into his room. Pyro caught Rogue's glance and held it for a moment, his face set with anger and resignation, before he followed Eden inside and slammed the door.

* * *

Pyro slammed the door and turned to Eden.

She hit him in the face so hard, his teeth cut the inside of his cheek. "What the fuck?" he shouted.

She hit him again and pushed him into the door. "You son of a bitch, you fucking bastard," she seethed. He could tell she wanted to scream, but knew she didn't want anybody else to hear. "I'm going to kill you."

He shoved her back and she hit the desk. She grabbed a still-hot coffee pot from off the desk and whirled around with it. It almost hit him but he knocked it out of her grip and grabbed her arm. "Stop!" he shouted.

Eden tried to twist out of his grip and when she couldn't she punched him the ribs. The punch surprised more than hurt him and he let go. She backhanded him in the face. He lunged at her and threw her against the desk again. There was a glass there and she grabbed it and this time succeeded in hitting him with it. It didn't break but it hurt like hell. He staggered backwards, a hand pressed to his throbbing temple. She stood there, breathing fast and glaring at him, clutching the glass and raising it. She threw it and he ducked. It shattered against the door and pieces of glass went flying. He lunged at her again, this time going for her legs and knocking her over. He straddled her and managed to pin her arms up over her head. She struggled and tried to move her legs.

"Stop!" he shouted again. "Stop it!"

When she gave up trying to move, she spat in his face. "You lied to me. You lied to me."

He held her and felt her fury like a heat emanating from her entire body. "Fuck you," he said, blood dripping from his mouth onto her face.

"Get off me," she growled, struggling again.

"Stop moving," he ordered.

She struggled and squirmed until her face was red with the effort. But he was too strong for her. She stopped and met his eyes, breathing hard. They stared at each other, until they were breathing at the same time, until he could feel her pulse matching his.

He kissed her and she struggled against it, but not hard enough. She tried to bite his lip and he pulled away. "Get off me," she whispered. It was a plea.

"Fuck you," he rasped and kissed her again. He forced one of her arms down to her side, so that her hand was between his leg and hers and he held it there with his knee. With his free hand, he cupped the back of her head and kissed harder, deeper. She was responding now. Her tongue wasn't the same, but she tasted the same. Her lips were the same.

They kissed and kissed. He pulled away. "You're the liar," he whispered against her mouth. "You're the lie." They were kissing again. "You didn't Cure yourself for him. You did it for you."

"Stop it." As her lips moved, they brushed against his.

"You did it for you," he repeated. He unzipped her jeans.

"Pyro," she moaned. She pulled her hand free and wrapped her arm around him, pulling him in. "I hate you." She was kissing his neck. He took the ends of her shirt and raised it over her head. She allowed it. He took off his own shirt.

"You love me," he whispered, unhooking her bra, throwing it to the side, kissing her breasts.

"No," she whispered. "No."

Pyro raised himself and looked into her eyes. "Eden," he said, "just shut up."

He pulled down her jeans and then his own. He pushed her legs apart with his knees and was inside her again. She was the same here as well. He could feel her as if nothing had ever changed. He tried not to think of how many times Toad had been in this position with her since the last time he had been. Tried not to think of the years between that night and this one. Tried not to think of the cut that was burning the inside of his mouth, the bruise on his head, the bruises on her face and on her neck. Finally, all of the things he was trying not to think about congealed and collided into an incomprehensible blur and splintered and shattered, disappearing altogether for a blissfully thoughtless moment.

Then, as he lay there, gasping and nearly sobbing, all of those thoughts came back together, piece by piece, until everything was, once again, painfully and unchangeably clear.


	12. Chapter 12: Bedfellows

**Chapter 12: Bedfellows**

Wolverine sat with his arms folded as Storm led Beast into her office. The blue mutant had called ahead to say that he would coming and that he had some news. Logan wasn't sure he wanted to hear anymore of Beast's "news." It had never been good before. He couldn't imagine that that would change this time.

Beast sat down and drank the coffee that Storm had poured for him. She didn't look thrilled either. Usually happy to see Beast, his last visit, when he'd told them about the renewed Mutant Registration Law and how they would all be forced to register, had left Storm disillusioned and angry. Beast knew it and was visibly uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat quietly. "How are you both?"

"As well as can be expected," Storm answered coldly. "What have you come to tell us this time? Are we going to be herded into concentration camps?"

"Ororo—"

"I'm serious Hank. Let's just get right down to it."

Beast put his cup down and folded his hands together, looked down at the floor and then up at the two of them. "It's not bad news."

Logan snorted. "It's funny how much I don't believe that," he said.

Beast's gaze hardened. "Look, I know you're both angry at me. But contrary to popular belief, I am not solely responsible for what is happening right now. You can hold me totally accountable if it makes you feel better, but that will get us nowhere."

Storm sighed and seemed to soften somewhat. "What have you come to tell us Hank?"

Beast took a deep breath. "We may have found a way to uncover Magneto's hideout."

Logan balked. "Even the Professor could figure that out. What makes you think the United States Government can?"

"You remember when Pyro attacked the UN building? Well, while he was in the hospital recovering from his gunshot wound, he was visited by Dr. Rhys Weir," Beast began.

"He's part of the Department of Mutant Affairs, isn't he? I remember reading something about him when I was going through the Professor's files," Storm said.

"Yes, that's him," Beast answered. "He's a great scientist. One of the founders of The Guard."

Logan looked up. "The Guard?"

"A science and medical foundation dedicated to finding cures for various incurable diseases," Beast explained. "AIDS and cancers and such. They're represented all over the world. A rather recent organization, funded by some of the richest people in this country and others. Dr. Weir is responsible for some of the most advanced studies on the mutant genome."

"He experiments on mutants?"

"Not without their consent," Beast was quick to clarify. "There are volunteers all over the world who want to know more about themselves and their powers."

"This guy, Weir," Logan began, "what would he want with a punk like Pyro?"

Here, Beast shifted uncomfortably. "Well, due to the nature of human/mutant relations at this time and his expertise in mutant studies, Weir has been doing some work for the Defense Department. It's been brought to my attention lately that he was partially responsible for the development of the Cure weapons we saw on Alcatraz. And it seems he's also developed a tracking device which he…" Beast paused. "Which he was…authorized to implant in Pyro during the surgeries that saved his life."

Storm's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Implant?" she repeated coolly.

"Yes. It was specifically designed without any metal parts, only plastic and organic material. The plan was to allow Pyro to escape so that they could track him to any terrorist group he may have been working with. Their greatest hope, of course, was that he would seek out Magneto, since it was clear that Magneto would not seek out Pyro."

"Because he betrayed Magneto last time, when he told us about how Magneto was going to attack that lab," Logan provided.

"Precisely," Beast nodded.

"So, the last thing they were prepared for was for Magneto to rescue Pyro," Storm said.

"Exactly," said Beast. "The equipment needed to pinpoint the tracking device was not in place yet. And the device can only be detected within a fifty mile radius anyway, so when Pyro was rescued…"

"They couldn't track him."

"Yes. By the time the equipment was up and running, Pyro was long gone and far outside the fifty mile radius."

"That's not the end of the story, though, is it Hank?" Storm asked.

"Hardly," he said. "Last week, the device was detected in the Washington D.C. area quite by chance. Pyro is in Washington. They know where he is and they're sitting on him right now. We suspect that Magneto sent him there with a group of other human-looking mutants to keep an eye on the situation in Washington. Spying and such. Possibly, they intend to assassinate someone. Senator Duro for instance."

"Well, I can't blame Magneto there," Logan muttered.

"Logan," Storm said scoldingly.

"What?" Wolverine shrugged. "That guy oughtta be hung up by his—"

"I know how you feel, Wolverine," Beast said sympathetically, "I truly do. But if Senator Duro or any other leader is attacked or killed by a mutant fringe group, or even just by some lone vigilante mutant, it will have horrible repercussions for the whole mutant community. Not just in this country, but in the whole world. It would give mutant hate groups just the excuse they need to vilify and attack us."

Logan was silent and unapologetic, but he knew they were right. He hated that they were right…but he knew it.

"What now, Hank? What happens next?" Storm asked wearily.

"If Pyro can be tracked to wherever Magneto is hiding, a strike force will be mounted." Here Beast paused, looked at both of them in turn and took a deep breath. "We should be part of it."

"'Cause that really helped last time," Wolverine growled.

"He's right Hank," Storm agreed, to Logan's surprise. "We helped them last time. We killed Jean—"

"_I_ killed Jean," Logan corrected quietly, almost to himself, but the others heard him and seemed at a loss for words.

And again, like every night in his dreams and every day when he let his mind wander, Logan saw Jean's face and felt his claws penetrate her flesh and pierce her heart. Felt her blood spill onto his hand, saw her face as she died, felt her life slip away in his arms.

Storm was looking at him. "_Logan_ killed Jean," she said at last, then turned to Beast. "We showed them that we were on their side…and still," she pulled her wallet out of her jeans pocket and opened it. Inside it, displayed in the clear interior flap, was her mutant registration card, complete with her photo and a description of her powers. "Still, I have to carry this. And all my students have to."

Beast looked away from the card and Storm closed her wallet and held it in her lap, waited for him to speak. "Ororo," he sighed, "if we sit back and do nothing, if we don't let them know that we're at least willing to help, it will be seen as a defiant act. I guarantee that. The President has advised me to ask for your help in this matter, for any knowledge that you have that may be of use. He is not a supporter of Duro and would like nothing more than to put this mutant/human conflict to rest. If we fight with them and we succeed in destroying Magneto, we may have a chance to calm the rise of mutant hatred, to end the fear of mutants that Magneto has put in people's hearts because of his actions."

"Magneto didn't start this fight," Logan heard himself say. Beast and Storm looked at him, incredulity spread across their faces. He went on, "I mean, he started it because he saw what was happening. He knew this would all happen and he wanted to stop it. People were afraid of us before Magneto started all this shit. They were already looking for a way to control us."

Beast thought for a long moment. "That may be so," he conceded, "but making frightened people more afraid doesn't help matters."

Logan nodded. "I just want to make sure that we all realize that even if we kill Magneto and every follower he's got, it won't make everything all better."

Storm nodded. "Yes, I think we can all agree on that."

Beast shrugged. "I have hope."

Storm's face darkened, and with it, the sky outside. "You'll forgive me if I find it difficult to have hope when I see stories on the news about mutants being dragged behind cars and hung up in trees and held in jail for weeks because they accidentally left their mutant registration cards at home. And I hope you understand that my only real concern is protecting the children."

"I do understand, Ororo, of course I do." Beast looked from Storm to Logan and back again. "May I tell the President that he can count on your help in this matter?"

"Will they be using Cure weapons?" Storm asked.

"Most likely," Beast answered sadly.

Storm looked at Logan and he saw in her eyes the sadness that weighed her spirit and the hate that was freshly brewing there, and also the responsibility and resignation. "Yes," she said, still looking at Logan, asking him with her sad eyes if she could count on him.

Logan nodded.

* * *

It was late that night when Storm remembered something. She rose and walked down the stairs and into the Professor's office which was unchanged since his death. They couldn't bring themselves to change it. All was left just as it had been when he was alive.

She opened one of the file drawers and leafed through it until she came to a folder labeled, THE GUARD. She removed it and sat on the couch by the big window to read it. Inside was a great deal of detailed information on the various doctors and scientists involved in The Guard. It wasn't until she got into the last pages of the file that she found the information that had sparked her memory and gotten her out of bed.

It was a partial transcript describing an experiment on a mutant named Mortimer. Some of the transcript was covered in dark black lines, like some classified CIA document. Mortimer was a "volunteer," it read, who was "very interesting." There wasn't much more than that, just very vague explanations of various experiments they were conducting on him.

Mortimer…

Storm went over to the desk again and searched for the file on the Brotherhood that she knew was there. She found it and opened it. Inside were pictures and descriptions of Magneto, Mystique, Sabretooth and Toad, as well as other mutants who were known to be in contact with Magneto. Pyro was in there, along with a mutant Xavier had called "Cobra," the one who had escaped their custody shortly after the Professor had been killed, during the chaos preceding the battle at Alcatraz. They had no picture of her, but Storm vaguely recalled her face and thought she could identify her if she saw her again.

Magneto's picture was from several years ago and she saw how he had aged since it had been taken. Under his picture was his given name, Eric Magnus Lensherr. Next, a picture of Mystique taken from a security camera's grainy footage, looked up at her. Her name had been Raven Darklhome. Sabretooth's picture was a mug shot from perhaps a decade ago. With his superior strength, she couldn't imagine that his incarceration had lasted very long. Victor Creed, the file informed her, had been his name. And then, she saw it. Toad's face looked up at her, but as a young boy, with an accompanying sketch of how he looked as a grown man. And under that picture was the name that he had been born with: Mortimer Toynbee.

Mortimer.

Storm leaned on the desk and felt tired all over. How many people were named Mortimer? Add to that, how many mutants? Was it possible? Logan said he'd been attacked by Toad the day that Pyro had been broken out of the hospital. She hadn't believed him. That is, she believed that Logan had seen someone with powers _like_ Toad's, but not Toad himself. She knew Toad was dead. She had killed him.

She must have. She hadn't seen him since that night on Liberty Island. He hadn't been part of Magneto's entourage in any of the later battles. And yet, if he had been part of these experiments with Doctor Weir, that would explain his absence.

"Our volunteer Mortimer," the file had read.

If he had been part of any experiments, Mortimer Toynbee, alias The Toad, was no volunteer.

If he had been experimented on, he had been forced. He had been held captive. As Storm herself would have to be if she were to be subjected to experimentation. Nothing on this earth would have compelled her to "volunteer." And if she would not be willing, Toad would have been less so.

And if all of this were true, that Toad was alive, that he was the Mortimer that The Guard had been experimenting on and that Doctor Rhys Weir had been the leader in those experiments, then Storm had just sold her soul to the very devils that exploited her kind and wanted to destroy them.

Or…had it just been Toad? After all, Toad was a terrorist, like Magneto. Perhaps he had survived electrocution, had been picked up by a police boat, say, had been arrested, interrogated and handed over to the Department of Mutant Affairs, and subsequently to Rhys Weir. Instead of a trial and a sentencing, it had been decided that Toad would be more useful as a subject of study. Perhaps Toad, in a weakened state, had even agreed to be experimented on so as to avoid prison or a death sentence.

Storm's throbbing conscience told her she had to know. And she would find out.

But not yet.

First Magneto had to be dealt with. That, she was sure, was in all their best interests. Mutant and human alike.

* * *

"Please get off of me."

Pyro leaned up and looked at Eden. She was staring right into him. He turned away and did as she asked. He pulled his jeans up before sitting on the floor against the end of the bed. He was still breathing hard.

What should he say? Should he apologize? What had he done? He hadn't…had he? No, she had let him, she had pulled him into her arms. His head was killing him, his mouth burning.

Eden was struggling to catch her breath. Her bare chest was heaving, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Eden?"

At the sound of his voice, her eyes flashed open and they weren't blue anymore. They were snake-yellow and slit-pupiled. She sat up suddenly, gasping, wrapping her arms around her stomach and coughing.

Alarmed, Pyro reached for her. "Eden?" When his hand touched her shoulder, her head turned up with a frightening jerk, and she hissed at him, showing fangs. He jumped back. "Jesus Christ!" he cursed.

"Don't!" she whispered dangerously. "Don't." Then, she got up off the floor, yanked her shirt over her head, and charged for the door, holding a hand over her mouth and an arm around her stomach. She opened it and Rogue was standing there, with her fist raised, as if she had been just about to knock.

"E-Eden," she said, surprised. "Are you okay?"

Eden pushed past her and disappeared around a corner. Rogue turned to Pyro. "John? What's going on?" Her eyes widened as she took in the broken glass at her feet, the overturned coffee pot, his appearance. He stood up and looked into the mirror across from him and saw what she saw: the swollen cheek, the dried blood at the mouth, the cut on his head.

"Rogue—"

"Did you hurt her?" Rogue asked wrathfully.

He almost laughed. "Do you _see_ my face?"

"What the hell is with you two?"

"We were just…talking," he said lamely.

Rogue glared at him. "Do you always take your shirt off when you talk to Eden?"

"Rogue…"

They saw it at the same time, Eden's bra on the floor. Their eyes met. "John…"

"Rogue…I didn't. It's not…" Pyro stammered.

Rogue backed away from him, and stepped out of the door, calling, "Eden! Eden!" She ran in the same direction Eden had run and Pyro followed.

* * *

Her mind was full of pictures of feelings, flashing like lighting, searing her brain, her heart. Her pulse sped up. She could hear it pounding within her.

She could hear a voice, too, whispering somewhere in the recesses of her memory. It was a voice like a blade, smooth, sharp, dangerous and clean. It told her what she already knew—that she was weak, pathetic.

She cried out unintelligibly and fell over onto her side, twitching and jerking, her anger and her sadness boiling over past endurance. She was squeezing her eyes shut, but her eyelids peeled back of their own accord, painfully, disappearing into her face. Her mouth felt full, fangs growing where canines had been. Her throat clogged, she could feel a lengthening within it, cutting off her air. She was suffocating, choking on her own tongue. The voice grew louder. Eden was screaming, but unable to make a sound.

Then an all-encompassing silence fell over her. Her heart stopped pounding. Everything dimmed. Her pupils expanded and contracted. _A man was walking up to her. His feet were bare and green._

_"You're alright," Toad said, lying down next to her, their faces nearly touching. His voice sounded far away and echoed in her brain. "I went through this, too, remember?"_

_Eden tried to speak, tried to touch him. But it was a dream, and in this dream, she was not in control of her movements. She struggled against herself._

_"I know," Toad went on. "Feels like you're suffocating. It'll pass, love. You remember, don't you? Happened to me, too. Although," he added, with a thoughtful, passive tone, "when it happened to me, it was under…pleasanter circumstances."_

_"I…" she wheezed. "I…I'm sorry…"_

_He grinned wickedly. "You mean…for fucking another bloke when you know I still love you? Yeah…that's a bitch." He got up. _

_"T…Toad…" her voice was a squeak, a pathetic, disgusting plea. "Toad…" He was fading, she was losing him again. _

* * *

Rogue wrapped an arm around Eden and pulled her into a sitting position. She was half awake, half delirious.

"Toad…Toad…" she mumbled over and over again.

"Eden, it's me. It's Rogue. You're ok. You're powers are coming back," Rogue said, trying not to sound panicky.

Pyro stood over them, staring.

Eden was shaking, her hands fluttering at her sides, churning up the dust on the ground. Her head fell back against Rogue's shoulder, her mouth half-open, her returned fangs visible. Her breathing was rapid and she was hissing words neither of them could understand. Then, the shudders slowed until they finally stopped. Her eyes fixed on a point and were still.

"Oh my God…" Pyro whispered. "Is she…"

"No," Rogue said. "She's alive. She's breathing." Before their eyes, Eden's white skin glowed and almost imperceptibly, it faded into a light green and seemed to have never been otherwise, her hair darkening into a deeper green, so dark it was black. "Eden," Rogue whispered gently, brushing sweat-dampened hair out of the other woman's lidless eyes. "Eden?"

Pyro reached out. "I'll carry her back to my room."

Rogue's eyes flashed angrily. "You're not coming near her." With her new strength, Rogue effortlessly lifted Eden and stepped past Pyro towards Caruthers' room, Eden's head resting sightlessly against her shoulder.

He fell in step with Rogue. "Whatever you think you saw, it's not true."

"I'll let her tell me that," she responded.

They reached the gravity mutant's room and knocked. Caruthers' opened and gaped. "What the fuck?" She stepped aside and Rogue laid Eden down on the bed. "Is she…is she dead?"

"No," Rogue said, going to the sink and dampening a washcloth with cold water. "Her powers just came back. She's unconscious." She sat on the bed beside Eden and touched her face with the cloth, finally resting it across her forehead.

"Shit," Caruthers' muttered. "I passed out when I first got my powers, back when I was a kid. I remember I was really happy when it happened. I was running and…" They were looking at her and she stopped speaking. "Sorry…I ramble when I'm confused, nervous or intimidated. Also," she said, turning to Pyro, "why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

Pyro looked down at himself, suddenly self-conscious of his half-nakedness. "I…"

"I learned that mutant powers manifest themselves when we're teenagers because that's when we're really emotional and hormonal," Rogue said tightly. "Those of us who've been Cured get ours back in stages or completely when we're in a high emotional state." She was glaring daggers at Pyro. "It happened to me when I was attacked by Marvel. It happened to Magneto when they were being attacked at the lab. So…what happened to Eden?"

Pyro looked at the floor. Caruthers looked at Pyro. "Oh," she said flatly. "Right."

"It's not…what you think," he said. "I didn't…we…it's complicated. I don't know. We were fighting. I lied to her about…something. She was mad. And then…" He ran a hand through his hair and found tiny shards of glass on his fingers. "She was so angry she threw a cup at me, she cut my head. _I'm_ bleeding," he pleaded with the women. "_She's_ not! I didn't _attack_ her!"

"You just fucked her," Caruthers finished pointedly.

"Fuck you," he shot back. "It's none of your business."

"Why was she angry? What did you lie about?" Rogue asked.

"It doesn't…matter," Eden said.

She was awake.

"Eden!" Rogue exclaimed. "Are you ok? What happened?"

Eden was looking at Pyro. "It doesn't matter," she repeated weakly. "It's over."

"Eden…" Pyro said quietly.

"It's over," she said more firmly. "I'm fine." She turned her gaze to her own hands, in awe of the greenness of them. "I'm…"

Rogue smiled a little. "Your powers are back."

She nodded. "Kind of kills the reason Magneto sent me here, doesn't it?"

It was quiet for a while. Caruthers walked over to the fridge in her room and took out a beer and a bottle of water. "Here," she said, thrusting the latter at Eden, "sex kind of makes you thirsty. And getting your powers back and all, that's got to be dehydrating."

Eden took it from her and looked at her, like she could hear or see something no one else could. "Thanks," she said.

Caruthers nodded and sat down on the edge of the other bed in the room, staring at nothing, nursing her beer.

* * *

Eden took a long deep drink. She was swimming in emotions. There was anger, lust, loss and pain. Rogue was relieved, confused, suspicious. Pyro was embarrassed, frightened and frustrated. Caruthers…she felt like a black, blank hole, angry at…Pyro. Angry at herself. Full of sadness. The whole world was screaming again and laughing and crying.

She had gotten used to the noise, living with her powers all the years that she had. When she'd Cured herself, all she'd been able to feel were her own emotions, and it had been as frightening as the first day she'd discovered her powers. After a few days, though still disoriented, she'd gotten somewhat used to being inside herself with no one else's feelings there with her. It had been lonely, but strangely relieving. A great weight was gone, replaced with an appetite for constant contact. In the presence of others she'd been able to sense, not their emotions, but the echo of her former power. It was almost like being able to read them.

Before she'd Cured herself, Eden had, for so long, felt her own emotions only within the context of the people around her. It was like seeing through many different eyes, hearing from all angles. Feeling herself, feeling others at the same time, was a great connectedness, a balance within that she could not explain to anyone, or understand herself.

The ability to manipulate the emotions of others helped ease the pain of experiencing their feelings and hers. When Toad was angry, she could touch him and ease the anger from him and take it into herself, feel it for him. Not take it away from him completely, just lessen it, easing the burden, helping him carry a heavy weight. When Magneto was overburdened with hatred, or self-loathing, or fear, she could help him, too. And in helping them, in easing their hearts, she eased her own.

When she'd Cured herself, all that had gone away and she'd been left with only herself. At first it had been like being trapped in a sound proof room, unable to be heard or to hear anything outside the room, her own voice swallowed up in the silence. No echoes, no pulses, nothing. Like being lost in a darkness so black, her eyes would never adjust, never take in anything, a black hole of sightless gravity.

Then, it had been just…quiet. Simply soundless. She was alone and her heart and mind were quiet, turned off. In the same way that blinking had become less terrifying each time it had happened, not feeling others' emotions had likewise become familiar.

Now, her powers were back and as much as she relished the reawakened sensations around her, she had a new longing for the quiet that had come with powerlessness.

Pyro was looking at her and she was suddenly reminded why she and Rogue had come here in the first place.

_Certainly not to fuck an old flame and have a nervous breakdown_, a voice in her head seemed to say.

She shook her head to clear it and, breathing as evenly as she could, asked Pyro, "Why haven't you been in contact with Magneto?"

"W-what?"

"Magneto. Why haven't—"

"Yeah," he said, "I heard you. We—" He seemed startled by her questions, and his anger rose.

Caruthers looked at Eden. "Our phones have been tapped. And there's been people in cars watching the hotel from the road."

Eden frowned. "How did you know the phones were tapped?"

"Freak figured it out. I'm mean Frequency, you know. He can sense and control waves and electricity and could hear something in the phones that none of us could and said we were being listened in on."

"Damn," Eden hissed.

"And there's been a car out front. Different people, same kind of car. They're watching us."

"How did they find you in the first place?"

Caruthers looked at Pyro. Pyro shook his head. "No. I knew my face would be recognized, so I did what Magneto told me to do. Whenever I go someplace, Vanish goes with me." Vanish was a female mutant who could change her appearance to match the background and anyone or anything she touched changed as well.

Eden considered this. He felt like he was telling the truth.

"Are you sure, John?" Rogue asked. "You just ran out of your hotel room without even thinking about it."

"I swear! I haven't been seen. I don't know how they found us, but it's not because of me!"

"Stop!" Eden said. "It doesn't matter. We have to get out of here. Juggernaut and Hawk are waiting for us at the docks. They'll be there for the next six hours."

"They'll follow us if we leave. We've tried," Caruthers said. "We walked around aimlessly and they were there every time. Even in the dark."

"I've got an idea," Eden said.

* * *

"Hank, come in," Dr. Rhys Weir said, rolling his wheelchair back as he opened his office door to allow the furry blue mutant inside.

Beast stepped through. "Doctor Weir," he greeted cordially.

"What can I do for you Hank?" Weir asked amiably.

Weir was a striking man even in his current condition. The attack he'd survived some months back, when Magneto had invaded his laboratory in New York, had left him wheelchair-bound, but he sat straight-backed and seemed none the worse for it. He had a shock of thick white-gray hair and piercing eyes. His voice gave away the barest hint of an accent, possibly Eastern European or German. He had an aura of worldly wisdom, friendliness and hard-won respect. Despite his work with mutants, or perhaps because of it, he showed no signs of discomfort shaking Hank's hand or offering him a chair.

But Hank could never dispell the notion that he was being examined every time he came into contact with Rhys Weir. He was always uncomfortably aware of the scientist's eyes on him and the sensation of being "observed." Much like a monkey in a cage.

"I came to tell you that the cooperation from Xavier's people is guaranteed. The President wanted me to tell you in person."

"Well done, Hank. Indeed." Weir leaned back, opened and closed each hand on the arms of his chair. "You have my thanks."

"You should be thanking them," Hank said quietly.

Weir eyed him curiously. "I do and I shall," he replied.

Again, that feeling of being looked over…like a spectacle. "Well," Hank began, after a too-long moment of silence. "If there's nothing else, I'd better be getting back." He started to rise, but Weir stopped him.

"There is, something, Hank, actually. If you would," he gestured to the chair and Beast settled into it again. He opened the drawer to the left of his desk and pulled out a small device that looked like an iPhone. He pushed it across to Beast. "There you are."

"What is it?" Beast asked, unwilling to touch it until he knew what it was he'd be touching.

"It's one of the machines we've been using to trace the fire-mutant's tracking device. It's harmless."

Beast took it and it came alive in his hands. The touch screen showed a kind of satellite map and a dot on the map glowed. "He's the dot, I take it."

"He's the dot," Weir confirmed. "We've just gotten word that two of Magneto's agents have been seen at the hotel where the other members of the Brotherhood have been hiding out, presumably to rescue them." He smiled lightly. "I'm sure they'll find a way to escape without being seen by the people I have on the ground. If that's the case, then I'll need someone quiet and airborne to follow them, because they are most definitely headed to the sea."

"Who did you have in mind?"

Weir steepled his fingers. "What about Warren?"

"He goes by Angel now," Beast said.

"Angel, then. How divine. What about him?"

"I'll talk to him about it."

"No need. I'm very good friends with his father. You know we've done some work together. I've already spoken with him, he's spoken with Warren—ah, _Angel_—and _Angel_ is on his way."

Beast said nothing. He watched the little dot. It was pacing. Weir's words were like probes: the quip about having worked with Warren's father, poking light fun at Warren's new name. Each remark seemed like a test. He could almost see Weir writing out a report. _Subject seemed irritated when I hinted at my work on the Cure weapon…_

"Why did you ask me if you've already spoken with Angel?" he asked finally.

Weir smiled. "I wanted to know your feelings on the matter."

Another test. Another…experiment. Beast shook his head and passed the device back across the doctor's desk. "I have no objections. If Angel wants to help, and he's able to, then I don't see a problem."

"I'm glad to hear that Hank. Or should I call you Beast?" Weir's eyes sparkled with something akin to amusement.

"Hank is fine, Dr. Weir," Beast replied, standing. "If there's nothing else…?"

"Nothing, thank you. I'll let you know how it goes." They shook hands again and Weir held on a moment longer than necessary. He smiled and let go. "I find you fascinating, Hank. Truly. Blue fur. I can't get over it."

Hank raised an eyebrow. "It took me quite some time to get over it myself. Good night, Dr. Weir."

"Good night...Beast."

Those eyes were on him all the way out of the door…and seemed, even after he closed it, to never leave him.

* * *

Mark Feldman was on his third shift in the car. Nothing had happened. He doubted anything would. He wasn't sure what they were waiting for. A known fugitive was hiding in that dingy hotel. Why didn't they just go in and get him?

He never found out, not that he would have, had he lived.

* * *

Vanish stepped out into the darkness and was the darkness. Frequency had used his powers to turn off all of the outside lights, so it was pitch black out. She walked right up to the car. The passenger window was open and she climbed carefully into it and became identical to the leather seats. The man beside her turned when he heard her slide in next to him, but as he couldn't see her, he assumed the sound had come from outside. She slipped into the back seat and swung the cord over his head and yanked back. He couldn't see the cord because she was touching it. But he could feel it. His hands went to his throat and tried to loosen it. He tried to turn his head to see who was strangling him. He slapped aimlessly behind him with one hand, trying desperately to strike whoever was back there, and with the other hand, he removed his gun from its holster. He fired behind him but missed. Vanish held on. He fired again.

The others heard the shot and she saw Eden and Pyro run outside toward the car. Eden got there first. She threw open the door. The driver saw her, aimed his rifle at her and fired. Eden moved in such a way that the part of her body that ought to have been hit shifted independently, much like a belly dancer, while at the same time she grabbed the gun and tore it from his hand. Vanish had seen snakes on television. They moved so quickly, you barely perceived it. Vanish could hardly describe what she'd just seen, but what she knew was that Eden hadn't been shot, and she now had the gun. And just as quickly and snake-like, she struck, moving with such speed, her teeth were in the driver's neck and out again before Vanish knew what was happening. The only evidence was the identical holes that appeared in his neck. He slumped over, dead.

"Jesus, Eden," Pyro whispered. "How did you…?"

"Forget it. Vanish, extend your powers to the car. Make it disappear. The other people in the motel probably heard the shooting. Pyro, go back and get everyone else. I'll put him in the trunk."

Pyro looked doubtfully at Eden as Vanish made the car and everything in it disappear. Other people started coming out of their rooms to see where the sounds had come from. "Eden, I don't think you can move him by yourself."

"Watch me," she replied and walked around to the other side of the car, disappearing behind it.

Pyro walked back to the room as calmly as he could.

"Hey man, you see anything?" someone called out.

"Nothing," Pyro said. "I think it was a bus or something. Busted tire. I don't know."

"Shit, sounded like a gun to me."

Pyro shrugged and went back inside. After they were sure that the people had gone back into their rooms, he, Rogue, Caruthers, Frequency, and the last of their group, Slide, went outside and saw Eden standing next to what appeared to be nothing. "Get in," she said.

They felt for the door and when they touched it they, too, disappeared. After everyone was in, Pyro drove a little away from the hotel and, when he was sure they were out of sight, told Vanish to let go. Everyone reappeared and Vanish, pale and covered in sweat, collapsed against Caruthers, shaking. She'd done too much, held on too long. She was exhausted.

"Let's get out of here," Eden said.

They drove as close to the marina as they felt was safe, then abandoned the car and walked the rest of the way to the boat. They'd made it just in time. Hawk and Juggernaut had already started prepping for launch.

Once aboard and well away from the dock, the group relaxed. They hadn't been followed. They were safe.

* * *

It hadn't mattered that they'd turned off the power. It had made no difference when they'd somehow managed to make the car disappear and drive away in it.

He didn't need to see them then and, far above the water, hidden in the clouds, he didn't need to see them now.

Angel only needed to keep his eyes on one thing: a tiny red dot on a tiny screen.


	13. Chapter 13: Undone

**Chapter 13: Undone**

The rocking of the boat made Pyro feel sick. His head throbbed and his mouth was swollen. Eden had disappeared to talk to Juggernaut and everyone else seemed to be avoiding him. Occasionally, he caught Caruthers looking his way, but she would quickly turn aside when she saw he'd noticed. Rogue sat with Vanish and Frequency on the other side of the boat, talking quietly, but infrequently.

Finally, Eden came out of the captain's cabin, Juggernaut following her. They went in opposite directions, Juggernaut watching Eden with a strange expression. Hawk oversaw all of this from his perch atop the cabin with a curious grin on his face.

Pyro followed Eden, who was standing at the bow. She was holding the rail and staring out into the gathering darkness.

"Eden." She tensed when she heard him say her name. "What happens now?"

She gripped the boat rail and said, barely above the slosh of the waves, "I don't know."

Pyro's chest felt tight and his heart was aching. She'd barely looked at him since her powers had come back—since she'd nearly, or quite possibly, given him a concussion with a glass—since she'd laid trapped underneath him...moaning his name...

"You can't..." he started. "When we go back..." What was he trying to say? Why couldn't he just speak? "Eden...where am I sleeping when we get back?"

Still, she did not look at him. "In your room."

To his horror, Pyro felt his throat constrict and his eyes grow hot. "Why?" he managed to say.

Eden's hair whipped in the wind. Her face glistened with sea spray. She bowed her head and sighed and started to turn away, to walk away. He grabbed her arm. "He hit you. He tried to kill you. I can still see the bruises. You deserve better."

Eden turned slowly to look at him at last. "Who do I deserve Pyro? You? You think Toad is a sadist. _You're_ a pyromaniac. You kill people by setting them on fire." She smiled mirthlessly and laughed a bitter laugh. "I bite people and inject them with poison. Cain can crush people between his fingers. We're killers, Pyro. We're all killers." She took a small step closer to him and touched his face. "We're the bad guys." Again, that same, sharp smile. He could see just a hint of her fangs. "You say you see the bruises on my face—look at what I did to _your_ face and tell me again that I deserve better."

Long after she'd gone below deck, Pyro remained fixed in place, unable to move, unable to think. His muscles grew stiff, his face wet and cold from the wind against his tears. He couldn't name what he was feeling, but it was heavy and hollow and dark.

* * *

Cain Marko, alias the Juggernaut, would never consider himself, or be considered by anyone else, an intuitive man, but one did not need intuition to sense the tension that boarded the motorboat, along with his fellow Brotherhood members. After they'd navigated away from the marina and far out into the water, safely beyond the detection of anyone that mattered, Hawk gave Juggernaut a knowing sidelong glance.

"Is it just me, or is it unusually cold on this boat?"

Cain nodded, but said nothing.

"She got her powers back awfully quickly," Hawk went on, a sly tone to his voice.

"Wot's that supposed to mean?"

"I know you are not as stupid as you pretend to be."

"Wot's THAT supposed to mean?" Cain growled, distracted from the goings-on aboard the boat by the relentless audacity of the bird mutant.

Hawk lowered his voice. "Come on, think about it. Eden and Pyro. It's obvious."

Juggernaut wanted to hit the smug bastard and tell him he didn't know what the fuck he was on about. Then he wanted to hit him because he knew exactly what Hawk was on about. He restrained himself with difficulty. "You don't know Jaida."

Hawk grinned thoughtfully. "Hmm...maybe not. But I think Pyro does. Very well."

"Alright, thas it!" He punched Hawk in the face.

"_Neik_!" Hawk shouted, holding his nose. "_Ebn El Sharmoota_!"

"If you're gonna insult me, do it in fucking English!" He went for Hawk again, but the flying mutant was ready this time, and despite having a profusely bleeding nose, was able to rise above Cain and kicked him in the head. Cain, who wasn't wearing his helmet, felt the blow keenly, but as he was about to try to grab hold of Hawk's leg, he felt a powerful hand on his arm attempting to restrain him.

"Hey! What the hell?" It was Rogue.

"Stay out of it!" he yanked his arm out of her grip. She rose in the air and flew in between Hawk and Juggernaut. "Move Rogue!"

"No! Stop it!"

Juggernaut's anger blocked his good judgment, as it so often did. He swung his arm out to push Rogue aside, but she was faster and kicked his arm away, while at the same time using her other leg to knock him off balance by kicking him under the chin. His head went up and back and he felt himself falling. He hit the deck hard and they were all lucky it wasn't hard enough to break up the floor. All the same, he could feel the floor yield severely under the sudden impact of his full body weight.

"Alright! Alright! The next person that kicks my head is going to fucking die!"

He sat up and anyone near him backed off quickly. Rogue stood on the deck, Hawk behind her. It was clear she was keeping him there. She had a hand on his chest and a look in her eyes he'd never seen before. The silence on the boat was deafening.

"What's going on?" Eden's voice. She was standing at the top of the stairs, having come up from below deck. Pyro appeared from behind the captain's cabin, looking pale.

Cain looked at Eden, then Rogue. "Hawk and me are having a personal discussion."

Eden looked at all three of them. "Who's driving the boat?"

No one answered.

Eden sighed. "This stops. Now. Finish your personal discussion at home." She didn't wait to see if they listened, but walked back down the stairs. Pyro looked as if he might follow, but caught Rogue's eyes and turned in the opposite direction.

"Who does she think she is? Magneto?" Caruthers muttered.

"Shut up," Juggernaut snapped. He got up and made to walk past Rogue, who wasn't sure what he intended to do and stood in his way. She was so much smaller than he was that he had to look down to meet her eyes. "Now move, darling. I won't touch him." He looked at Hawk. "And you. Don't talk to me. And get something for your nose."

"_Ebn El Sharmoota_..." Hawk hissed, blood dripping down his face, making him look almost frightening.

It took a force of will to walk away, but Cain did so, his insides boiling.

* * *

Rogue watched Juggernaut walk up the stairs to the captain's cabin and let out a long breath. She turned around and was met by the bloody face of Hawk, glaring at her. "Who the hell do you think you are?" he demanded.

Rogue couldn't answer. She felt like two people. She _was_ two people. Which of those two people had just jumped in between two men much stronger than she and stopped their fight? Who the hell did she think he was? She wasn't sure.

"You're nose is bleeding."

"_Neekni_," he growled. "I'm aware of that."

They stared at each other. Despite his bleeding nose, Rogue couldn't help but notice, not for the first time, how handsome Hawk was. His eyes were amber colored and his skin was copper-brown. He had a long hooked nose, which suited him and his powers, and curly dark black hair. "There's a first aid kit downstairs," she said.

"I know."

He was still glaring at her.

"And an ice pack."

"Yes."

"Your nose is turning purple."

He looked away at last, his head turning towards where Cain had gone. He closed his eyes and grimaced in pain. "Advil?"

Rogue nodded. "Come on. I'll help you."

"Fine."

Downstairs, the boat's bathroom was small, but large enough for two people if standing close together. Rogue balanced the first aid kit on the sink, while Hawk sat on the toilet seat, looking grim. She cleaned his face first and helped him pack his nose with gauze to stop the bleeding. Now he was tilting his head back and holding an ice pack against his face.

He broke the long silence between them with, "Do you dye your hair?"

"What?"

He raised his hand and lightly touched one of the white stripes in her hair. "Do you dye your hair or is it natural?"

"Neither. It's a long story."

"One you don't want to talk about."

"Right."

He nodded. "Maybe someday, yes?"

Rogue met his amber eyes. He was looking at her with a mixture of genuine curiosity and the sly amusement with which he seemed to view every situation. "Maybe." She paused. "What does..neek-nee mean?"

Hawk smiled. "Fuck me."

"What?" Rogue eyed him angrily.

He was laughing "Neekni. It means 'Fuck me.' It's not a proposition. Although," he shrugged, "it could be construed that way, I suppose." He adjusted the ice pack. "Would you...like to construe it that way?"

Rogue's eyes widened. "You're...crazy!" she cried, laughing despite herself.

"Maybe. But, you didn't say no," he sang back, smiling.

She said nothing in reply, but was surprised, under the circumstances, to be...laughing. She hadn't laughed since...when had she last laughed?

At the Mansion? With Bobby? Yes, that must've been it. Bobby could always make her laugh. And in the days when her powers weren't there, when she'd thought she'd been Cured, they had found so much to laugh at and be happy about. And then...

One night, when they were together in bed, enjoying each other, laughing and moaning, Bobby had stopped dead suddenly. He'd frozen in the middle of saying her name. His body had tensed and the telltale blue veins bulged from his neck and forehead, his chest and stomach. He wasn't breathing. He couldn't move. Rogue remembered screaming to him, asking him what was wrong, but she'd known...

If Rogue hadn't pushed him away with all her strength, hadn't called for help, Bobby might have died.

"Rogue..." Hawk was saying her name, rolling the 'R' languorously. "What does this name mean? You chose it?"

Rogue blushed, a little embarrassed. "Yeah. I chose it when I was...when I first got my powers. It means something that can't be controlled. My power was out of my control, so I started calling myself Rogue. It also means...someone who's on their own. I ran away from home after I got my powers. Everyone was afraid of me. My own parents wouldn't come anywhere near me. So," she shrugged, "I left. I went...rogue." She rolled her eyes at the lameness of that final statement.

"Hmm," Hawk nodded. "I like it."

"What about you? The reason you chose your name is obvious I guess. But, why not eagle, or falcon or something?"

Hawk frowned. "I named myself Saqr."

"Soccer?"

He glared at her. "_That_ is exactly why I changed it. In this country, English speakers think I mean football. I do not. In my language, Saqr means Hawk. But believe it or not, in my country, they are even less tolerant of mutants than in America. So, I came here. And when I did and told people my name, no one knew what I was talking about!"

This was the first time Rogue had seen Hawk flustered. He was usually so aloof and ambivalent. She'd seen him mildly annoyed, somewhat angry, miffed even...but on this topic, he was positively agitated.

Rogue thought for a moment. The way he said Saqr, the second time she heard it, was slightly different from the word soccer, she now noticed. The 'a' sound was lighter, the 'k' more guttural and the way the 'r' rolled gave it an exotic sound. She frowned. "Sa-qr," she said slowly.

Hawk pulled the ice pack away slowly, staring at her. She couldn't tell if he was amazed or angry until he smiled. "_Jayyid_," he said, "_Jayyid jadan_."

"Is that good?"

Hawk, still smiling, though his purplish nose made it look painful, nodded. "Very good."

* * *

"Boat's back."

Magneto looked up from the computer screen, eyes red with exhaustion. It was late...or rather early. The screen told him it was 3:30 in the morning. "What?"

Quicksilver stepped closer. "Boat's back."

"Yes. We were expecting Hawk and Juggernaut to return, were we not?"

"Yes, and they have. But...so has everybody else."

Magneto sighed, disappointed. "Well, that was always a possibility. Unfortunate."

"Yeah. And Pyro has a concussion, Hawk's nose is broken and Eden got her powers back," continued Pietro speedily.

Magneto was on his feet in a moment. "What?!"

"Pyrohasaconcussion,Hawk'snoseis-"

"I heard you! Where are they?"

Quicksilver and Magneto stepped into the main entrance to meet the mutants who had disembarked the boat. Pyro was pale, his head cut and his lip swollen. Hawk's nose indeed looked broken. They all looked exhausted. Juggernaut stepped up to him. "Well, so much for a surveillance team."

"What happened?" He was talking to Cain, but looking for Eden.

"They were being watched and their phones were tapped."

Magneto focused his gaze back on the large man. "Tapped? Frequency?"

"Yeah, good fing he was there, or who knows?"

Magneto saw the mutant everyone called Freak for short and beckoned him forward. "You could tell the phones were tapped?"

Freak looked nervous. "Yeah...I mean, yes. I can't explain it. I just...I knew something was wrong, that someone else was listening when we made phone calls."

"And you were being watched?"

Caruthers stood next to Freak and nodded. "Almost every day since we stopped calling. It was almost like they knew where we would be before we got there. And the thing is, they weren't real discreet about it."

That troubled Magneto. Whoever had been on their tails was either very clever, or very dumb. Why would they go to the trouble of following them and tapping their phones, only to make their surveillance blatantly obvious? But all such thoughts left him when he saw Eden step inside, the last to reach the Lair's entrance. She stopped when she saw him and seemed lost as to what to do.

The other mutants in the Lair had come to greet the returned Brotherhood members, curious, full of questions, some glad to see the ones they considered friends as well as Brothers. Juggernaut, Caruthers and Freak were waiting for Magneto to continue speaking, but he stepped past them and towards Eden.

He noticed the change at once. "You're different," he said.

"My powers are back," she replied.

"No," he murmured, "there's something else. You...are stronger, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"You powers didn't just return...they...are magnified." He could see the muscles in her arms were more powerful, her skin had a healthy glow, her face and eyes were bright with vigor. Her whole body seemed more supple, more powerful. Magneto had never known Eden to be anything but delicate; deadly at times, yes, but always delicate. Now...

"My powers..." she began, "are what they were before I met the Voice. I am...whole again."

Magneto took her arms in his hands and stared into her snake eyes. "Eden..." He could feel himself beginning to smile, a happiness growing in him, but then, he recalled what had led to this transformation, what had almost been the cost and it stopped his joy. He released her arms suddenly, his anger at her returning with perhaps even more strength. She saw the abrupt change.

"Please..." she begged, quietly. "Sir, I..."

"When everyone's settled down, I want all of you to come and talk to me. Tell me exactly what went on."

"I'll tell you now, if you like."

He shook his head, turning away from her. "There are some injuries that need tending to first."

"Yes, of course." The disappointment, the sadness in her voice was audible. "Sir..."

Without another word, he walked away from her. He didn't even look back.

* * *

A few hours later, in the blue pre-dawn light, Hawk flew far over the treetops, trying to ignore the ache in his reset nose by focusing on the pleasanter feeling in his chest, the flutter of a new flirtation, the challenge of a fresh conquest. He spun around in a circle, wondering at the mystery of the white streaks in her hair.

As he was righting himself, he almost missed the rustle in the tree directly below him, the movement of large white feathers, just visible in the dim light. "What have we here?" He glided over the spot, acting as if he hadn't seen anything, then doubled back and dove.

He swooped down almost on top of the man, pulling up at the last second, using his huge talons to dig into the bare white shoulders and lift him from the branch.

The mutant cried out and, extending his own wings automatically, got them caught under a heavy branch above him. Holding on with one taloned foot, Hawk struck out with the other, pushing the mutant forward off his careful perch. His booted feet slipped, not having the added advantage of claws that Hawk had been blessed with. Hawk used his momentary panic to release the shoulder and throw his arms around the man, collapsing his white wings against his sides and sending them both careening through the trees to the forest floor.

Hawk felt the thwap and scratch of the branches as they tumbled. The mutant struggled futilely against Hawk's vice grip. Just before they hit the ground, Hawk extended his wings to slow their descent, but they still crashed down with heavy force. The white-winged mutant took the chance to escape Hawk. He ran and started to raise his wings, crumpling suddenly in excruciating pain. His left wing was broken.

Hawk was on him again, toppling him over and turning him onto his back. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The other man threw a punch, which Hawk avoided, grabbing the swinging fist and pushing it to the ground. "Who are you?!" he hissed. He had the mutant pinned beneath him, holding his arms down. The man cried out in pain. The combined weight of his own body and Hawk's on top of his broken wing must have been unbearable. He would probably pass out.

"Tell me!" Hawk screamed in his face.

The mutant's eyes rolled back. "Angel," he muttered.

Hawk laughed. "Fallen Angel, more like. What are you doing here? Hey, hey," he slapped the face of the agonized man, "no fainting."

Angel blinked. He whispered something Hawk didn't understand. "Ro..."

"What?"

Angel's eyes focused on Hawk's face. "Pyro..."

Hawk lurched back. Then, he heard a rumble in the sky above him. He looked up and felt his stomach drop. His widened eyes flew back to his prisoner, who eyes were closed.

"Hey! Hey!" Hawk shook him by the shoulders. "What about Pyro? What are you talking about?!" But Angel was unconscious. "_NEIK_!" he swore, enraged, thrusting the insensible man back against the ground. He looked around him and up again…and was frightened.

Hawk wasn't a praying man. He'd left his religion behind along with the rest of his past. But seeing what he was seeing now left him with no words, but for these, "Ya Allah," he whispered.

* * *

The early morning was wet and cold. The silence was filled by the nearby roar of the falls, the drip drip drip of the cavern walls, and the quiet sloshing of the black pool. He was here. She could feel him.

"Toad?" she asked quietly, her voice echoing up the chamber, then disappearing. She felt a surge of pain, her own, but his as well...stronger and full of guilt. "It doesn't matter anymore," she called to him. "It wasn't you."

He landed in front of her, almost surprising her, but not quite. "It _was_ me, Eden. That's what I am."

"No."

They stared at each other, barely breathing.

"Your powers..." he mumbled.

"Yes."

"Are you...stronger now?"

"Yes."

Toad's mind and body vibrated emotion. He filled Eden. The depth of his soul, all its dark sadnesses and darker joys surrounded and penetrated her. How had she been so foolish? How had she thought for a single moment of anyone else? He was so beautiful. So painfully, exquisitely beautiful. She thought her heart would split apart seeing him there.

Toad let out a quick gasp. His eyes widened as she fell deeper and deeper into him. She had never told him about her powers of empathy, had never allowed those powers to be obvious to him. For the first time, instead of just relishing his emotions, she let him feel hers as well, and he knew it. "I...can feel you...here," he said, a fist against his chest.

Eden's eyes filled with tears. This man, this maniac, this lover, this killer...he was everything. "I was wrong," she said, crying freely now.

"Wrong about what?" he whispered.

"It's not Magneto. It's you. You are the most important part...of everything. Of me. Of my life. I would die for you! I would die for you!"

"Eden!" Toad was crying, too.

"Please kill me!" she wept. "Toad! I've done a terrible thing!"

He had her in his arms in a second, holding her so tightly, she couldn't breathe. "I don't care!" he was saying. "I don't care!"

"I need to tell you!"

They fell to their knees on the ground, holding each other and crying. "No! I don't care what it is! I don't care!" He pushed her hair back and kissed her forehead again and again, then pulled her back into him. She grabbed hold of the back of his jacket, taking in the feel of his body, the scent of his skin, the swell of dark joy whirling inside of her as his emotions became even more her own. "I don't care Eden! I don't care. You can do whatever you want. Fuck whoever you want. Just...just stay with me. Come back to me."

"I'm here, I'm here!" Eden gasped through her tears, shaking with sobs, clinging to Toad, pressing herself into him, wanting to be as close as possible, to become part of him. "I love you, I love you, I love you!"

Neither of them knew how long they knelt there. At some point, Toad leaned to the side against a wall, taking her with him, and she lay against his chest, listening to the frantic beating of his heart, clinging to him. He stroked her arm, kissed the top of her head. Eventually, they sat in silence, their breathing steadied. The feel of his chest rising and falling, his hard muscles beneath his shirt, the warmth of him, the beat of his heart-she wanted to stay there forever.

"Eden," she could feel his breath against her hair as he spoke. "I… don't know who you are."

Eden reluctantly pulled away from him, so she could see his face. "What do you mean?"

He looked at her for a long time, idly moving a lock of her hair behind her ear. "When you were dying," he said, "I realized I didn't really know you. I don't know your last name. I didn't even know your real name was Jaida until I heard Cain calling you that. I don't know if you have family or if you're an orphan. You never told me about you and the Voice. Sometimes I thought I should ask you. I don't know why I didn't. Then, when I saw you lying there, I thought I'd never get the chance."

Eden touched his face and ran her fingers through his thick black and green hair. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Toad's eyes opened again, slowly. His fingers, gentle and calloused, traced her face, outlined her lips, her eyes, ran along her jawline. "Do you love me?"

"Yes. Yes."

His fingers trailed a path down her throat, over her chest and rested there. He spoke very quietly, no longer looking into her eyes. "And you love Pyro?"

"Toad—"

He made little circles with his finger along the skin atop her breasts, just visible above her shirt line, keeping his eyes down. "Tell me."

He spoke so quietly, the hypnotic movement of his fingers sending chills through her. The days and nights they spent together in mad passion passed through her mind. She would tell him anything. "Yes," she whispered and felt his darker emotions spark and then smolder, "but I've done nothing but hurt him."

"Is it over?"

She took his hand in both of hers, feeling the webbed skin in between his fingers and pressed it flat against her chest, over her heart. "Yes."

"Then you're mine again." Finally, he met her eyes.

"Toad. I was always, always yours. I'll always be yours."

He grasped her upper arms fiercely. "Eden, I will never hurt you again."

She smiled tenderly. "We both know you can't promise that. But it's okay. Next time, I'll hit you back."

Toad's troubled expression lifted, replaced by amusement. "Yeah," he grinned, "where'd these muscles come from, babe?"

She flexed a little under his hands.

Toad's eyes gleamed, bright with awe and sudden desire. "You really could hit me back, couldn't you?"

"We can experiment."

Toad made a little sound, a sigh and a hum, an animal sound, full of lust. He opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly he froze, head tilting sharply to the side.

"Toad?"

"Shh...listen, you hear that?"

She listened. "It sounds like...thunder, far away."

Toad stood, taking her hand and pulling her up with him. "No...it's…" He tightened his grip on her hand and looked at her. "Helicopters…"

* * *

Quicksilver was taking his morning run. He looped around the island several times each morning, trying to outrun himself each time. He felt like Superman when he did this, the part where Clark Kent turns back time to save Lois Lane by spinning around the world so fast it turns backwards. Pietro hadn't run around the world yet, but was planning on it someday. Maybe, if the war ever ended and mutants were accepted by society (unlikely), or even better _controlled_ society (more likely, with Magneto at the helm), he would be able to run around the world and be put in the Guinness Book of World Records for fastest man alive!

_What the fuck?_

As he passed the shoreline on the east side of the island for the third time, he saw a blur of images that weren't there before. He turned back and slowed slightly, to get a better view, but not slow enough to be seen.

Soldiers. In full armor, coming ashore. More than two hundred. Then, above him he saw helicopters. He could outrun a helicopter easily. He raced back to the Lair, sped through the entrance and flew to Magneto's office.

"Soldiers!" he cried.

"Helicopters!" Toad shouted at the same time. He'd entered the room with Eden just after Quicksilver.

"Yeah, that too," Pietro said.

Magneto looked at all three of them. "What?" As he said the word, the approaching choppers could be heard zooming directly overhead.

"We're surrounded," Pietro told him. "I saw on the beachsoldierswitharmorandwea ponsand—"

"Slow down!" Magneto said. "How many?"

"Two, three hundred."

Magneto looked as if he might have slammed his fist down on his metal desk, but stopped just short and simply rested it there. The metal balls that were always clacking together in midair above the desk stopped suddenly, spilled onto the floor and rolled away.

Eden moved to approach him, but Magneto saw her and put up his hand. The hurt in her eyes at this gesture was visible.

"Whaddadowedo?" Pietro demanded, when Magneto was quiet for what seemed to the speed demon an eternity.

A pounding from behind them ushered in the entrance of the Juggernaut, along with a few other Brotherhood members. "Mags, am I hearing choppers?"

"You are indeed," Magneto answered.

Juggernaut had a passive expression on his face that morphed into an almost pleased one. "Nice of them to bring the fight to us," he grinned.

Something about Juggernaut's easygoing attitude at this moment of terrifying crisis made Magneto huff a short laugh, but he sobered almost instantly. "Where's Hawk?"

Juggernaut's face fell slightly. "Last I saw, he went out for a fly around the island."

Magneto sighed.

"Cain," he said, lifting his cold grey eyes to the huge helmeted man, "I don't think it would be too ridiculous of me to say 'Battle stations' at this point. Do you?"

Juggernaut cracked his knuckles. "Not at all. Alright. Silverpants, get everybody up here who's not already."

Under normal circumstances, Pietro would have bristled at the nickname, but he nodded and as he ran to do a sweep of the rest of the Lair, he heard Cain say, "The rest of you: we've practiced this, trained for it. You know what to do. SO FUCKING DO IT!"

Magneto had planned for this, visualized it in his mind. So why did it surprise him that they should come to him? That his enemies should take the fight to his doorstep?

How had they known? How had they found them? The only answer was that somehow, without Hawk or Juggernaut or any of the others noticing, they had followed the group from Washington D.C. to the Island. But how could that be?

The answer was that it did not matter.

The only thing that mattered now was defending the Brotherhood.

Magneto watched as Cain and the others started to leave the office to take their positions around the outside of the Lair. Toad and Eden turned to follow them and suddenly, the battle meant nothing. "Eden!" he called out. They both stopped, the rest of the Brotherhood racing past them to their stations. "You're staying here."

"Sir…"

"Boss, she can fight—" Toad started to say.

He locked eyes with his longtime associate, the only remaining member of his original group. Toad was holding Eden's hand. So, they had reconciled. Magneto wondered if Toad could guess under what circumstances Eden had retrieved her powers. He had a sudden, mean impulse to share his theory with him, when the main part of that theory walked in. His face wasn't as swollen as it had been a few hours ago, but he was noticeably pale.

"Pyro, Toad," Magneto all but growled, "join the others. Now. Eden stays with me."

Pyro looked back and forth, between Magneto, and Eden and Toad. He balled his fists. "Fine," he said, then turned and left. Eden's eyes followed him out of the room and Toad saw it.

He took her chin between his fingers and stroked the side of her face. "I'll look after him."

Eden looked surprised by these words, but could not have been more surprised than Magneto was when he heard them. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. "I love you," he heard her whisper.

"I'll be back." He kissed the top of her head, pulled her away from him, kissed her lips. As he was leaving the room he noticed Rogue standing in a shadow in the doorway. "You comin?" he asked.

Rogue looked up at him, then at Magneto. "I can't…"

Toad nodded once, quick and curt, then disappeared.

Magneto's brain was pounding with inexplicable anger. The helicopters were growing louder. "Come with me," he demanded of both women. "Now."

"I can fight," Eden protested quietly.

"You can defend me!" he shouted at her.

They looked at each other over the short length of the desk, over a gulf of a thousand miles. "Yes sir."

Rogue silently stepped up beside Eden. Magneto turned away and felt them following him. They ascended the stairs in silence, the thrum of the helicopters growing louder with every step. Magneto opened the door at the top and as he stepped out onto the roof, he stopped short.

Three men were repelling from the helicopters hovering just above the Lair. Eden was in front of him in a moment and challenging the closest of the men. Instinctively, Magneto reached out to restrain her, but she moved so quickly, his hand grasped air. In seconds, Eden had subdued the first soldier—he hadn't even seen her do it—and moved on to another.

"My God…" he whispered.

"Holy shit…" Rogue agreed.

But they had no time for awestruck pauses. Five more men were sliding down repel lines to the roof, and more into the clearing surrounding the base of the Lair, where the rest of the Brotherhood eagerly awaited them. Magneto glanced slyly at Rogue. "They're not X-Men."

She gazed back at him wide-eyed, then smiled slightly. "You're right about that," and she took to the air, grabbed a man just as he was about to descend the rope and threw him back into the chopper.

Magneto maneuvered that same helicopter away from the Lair and directly into another one. They collided, their propellers catching, and then they exploded.

One of the remaining soldiers aimed a Cure weapon at him and Magneto felt his heart drop. His power surged with a will of its own, tore away a metal roof panel and thrust it at the soldier, sending him careening off the roof to the ground below. Eden and Rogue had taken care of the rest of the soldiers and the other helicopters had backed off when they saw what he had done to two of their own.

"Why don't they just bomb us?" Eden asked, fury in her eyes, a drop of blood on her chin, not her own.

"Let's not find out." Magneto focused his mind, channeled his emotions—his fear, his anger—and, reaching out to all the metal he could sense, he began to build a shield. It was a barely visible magnetic bubble that at first encased only him. It spread, surrounding Rogue and Eden, and then increased exponentially, encompassing the Lair and the entire Brotherhood defending it.

Eden stepped up beside him, her body rigid and tense.

"Stay with me," Magneto said to her.

She touched his arm and he knew she could feel it trembling as he strained to maintain the enormous field. Her slit, snake eyes fixed on his.

"I'm here," she said.

* * *

Hawk was running. It wasn't safe to fly. Above him, the helicopters roared and vehicles and armed men were approaching just behind him. He was close to the clearing surrounding the Lair when a fantastic explosion of sound and lights erupted above him as two helicopters slammed into each other. Hawk was sure that it hadn't been an accident. Sparks and debris rained down and he could hear the surprised cries of the troops not far back in the woods. He ducked and spun to avoid being struck himself, but a piece of the wreckage caught his shoulder and sliced through a part of his wing. He forced himself to his feet and ran on.

Through the trees ahead of him, he could see the Lair. His sharp eyes made out Magneto on the roof with Eden and Rogue on either side of him. From Magneto's hands emerged a magnetic shield, growing larger every second. In moments it would surround the Lair and the entire clearing, preventing anything on the other side from getting in. Flying was faster than running. He stayed low and just as the shield reached a mere five feet from the ground, he dove and tumbled, the shield closing in his wake.

He barely had time to indulge in a groan of pain as he skidded to a halt, his injured shoulder dragging through the dirt and gravel, when he was set upon by a soldier who had been trapped inside the magnetic field. He kicked Hawk in the side before the mutant could get to his feet and aimed what looked like a Cure weapon at him. There was nothing he could do. He had never been Cured before, couldn't imagine being without his powers. The soldier would pull the trigger and Hawk was as good as dead.

A fierce heat blasted Hawk's face, singeing his eyebrows, as the soldier was engulfed in flames. The man screamed, dropped his weapon, fell to the ground, rolled in agony—and then, stopped moving altogether. The smell of burnt flesh and Kevlar was overpowering.

Through the smoke stepped Pyro, a ball of flame in his hand, a cold smile on his face. "You're welcome," he said and then his eyes bulged wide and his body went rigid. The smile disappeared in a gape of surprise, and he fell forward onto his face. The fire in his hand caught dry leaves on the group before it went out completely. Hawk ducked and rolled as the soldier who had shot Pyro aimed at him.

The man fired twice before he was taken out by another of the Brothers. Hawk belly-crawled back to Pyro and saw a vial sticking out the other fallen mutant's back. He yanked it out and flipped him over. Pyro's eyes were full of panic. "I can't…" he gasped. "I can't…"

Hawk stared at him.

Pyro's hands fluttered involuntarily and his eyes rolled back and forth hysterically. "Help…me…" His fingers brushed Hawk's arm. "Hawk…"

"I know what you did," Hawk sneered at him. "I guess your friends forgot they weren't supposed to shoot you."

Confusion and fear were the only emotions Hawk could read. "I can't…" Pyro said again. "Feel…" And suddenly, his gaze became fixed. He stopped moving. He stopped breathing. Hawk pressed two fingers to Pyro's throat…and felt nothing. "Ya Allah!" he hissed, for the second time that day, jerking away from the mutant.

He opened his hand and looked momentarily at the vial and needle resting there. This was no Cure vial.

Hawk took one last look at Pyro, the pale, bruised face frozen in panic and pain. After a quick look around, he raised his wings and flew towards to the roof and Magneto.

* * *

Rogue saw him first. "Hawk!"

He was flying crookedly and his shoulder was bleeding. He landed hard, breathing heavily. "Pyro—" he gasped.

Rogue saw Eden stiffen, but she said nothing.

"What happened?" Magneto asked, just loud enough to be heard over the din. "Glad you're still with us, by the way."

Hawk nodded appreciatively, but got to the point. "I found a mutant in forest—not one of us—called himself Angel—I think he followed us from Washington. We fought. He mentioned Pyro before he passed out."

"Angel?" Rogue's voice trembled.

"That doesn't mean anything!" Eden said.

Magneto's eyes grew deadly cold and his face became an angry mask. "The X-Men," he growled. "This is how far they will go to destroy us. Join with the enemy of both sides."

"Just because he mentioned Pyro, doesn't mean—"

Magneto cut Eden off. "Where is Pyro? Find him and bring him up here," he told Hawk.

"He's dead," Hawk said. He opened his hand and revealed an empty vial and needle.

Magneto frowned. "The Cure?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it killed him."

Eden was pale, but her eyes expressionless. She balled up her fist and pressed it to her stomach. "Are you sure—" Her voice broke. She recovered. "Are you sure he's…dead?"

"I saw him die."

Magneto was unreadable. The shield never wavered. Eden was watching him, equally inscrutable, waiting for something, perhaps for some sign, some inkling that this news about Pyro affected Magneto in some way. "We need you out there, Hawk," was all he said.

Rogue felt her eyes start to burn. Tears. She stepped closer to Hawk. "This is a deep cut. We need to stop the bleeding."

Hawk's amber eyes met hers. "I'm alright," he said gently.

A tear escaped. She felt it slide down her face. "You're missing some feathers."

Hawk kissed her. She hadn't expected it, but the warmth of his lips was so welcome, so wonderful and too soon over.

"Stay safe, _jameela_," he murmured.

Then, to Magneto, he asked, "How long can you hold the shield?"

"Long enough."

Hawk nodded. "I'll be back," he said to Rogue, "and you can be my nurse again." He winked, expanded his incredible rich brown wings, and took flight. He wasn't as graceful and balanced with the missing feathers, but still a beautiful sight. The sensation of his lips lingered on hers. She was mesmerized by his flight path, no longer on a bleak island in the midst of a surprise attack, no longer in danger, no longer afraid. He soared nearly effortlessly and then dove straight for the ground, lifted a soldier by the shoulders with his clawed feet and flung him bodily across the clearing like he was nothing more than a rag doll.

Rogue gasped and was suddenly too aware of the noise and chaos below her, of the fact that the man who had just kissed her so quickly and tenderly, had just killed someone with the same effort it takes throw a ball—and with as much feeling; aware that this was not the first person he'd killed and would certainly not be the last.

And more frightening than any of this: she was aware that he could die down there, that she might never see or speak to…or kiss him…again.

But someone had already died down there, someone she'd cared about and that realization crashed down on her like a wave. Pyro. John. Had he betrayed them? If so, it had gotten him killed. If not, he was still dead. Pyro was dead. Rogue spun around.

Eden was standing stock still, her hand still pressed against her torso, but her face was bright and vivid with rage.

Magneto was focused on the shield. He eliminated two more of the helicopters, his face revealing the toll both that and maintaining the force field were taking on him. He wasn't looking at Eden.

But Eden was looking at him. Looking at him like she didn't know him…like she wasn't sure where she was or what she was doing.

"Eden?" Rogue reached out to her, to touch her arm, to take her hand, to try to comfort this unlikely friend who, she was sure, had loved Pyro more than anyone.

Almost faster than Rogue could see, Eden ran to the edge of the roof and dove off.

Magneto lurched forward, heedless of how close he was to the edge himself. "EDEN!" he cried.

Rogue pulled him back before he lost his balance. He looked at her in surprise, then turned again to where Eden had disappeared, his face pained. Carefully, they both looked over the side and saw her slithering down the side of the Lair, blindingly fast, down, down into the battle below.


	14. Chapter 14: Rage

**Chapter 14: Rage**

_"Remember when I first got here? Magneto said you'd give me anything I needed," he said. "How far does that go?"_

_ "How far do you want it to go?"_

_Pyro kissed Eden, pushed her down onto the bed. "Farther than this."_

_She just looked at him, felt his lust, his sadness, his loneliness. She could feel the anger that brewed beneath the surface and the desire for her that was blatant. She'd felt it for weeks. It kept her up at nights, lying an arm's length away from him in a separate twin bed, or worse, in a double bed when that was all they could get._

_And it wasn't one sided. How could it be? Pyro wasn't Toad, but his depth of feeling was almost as powerful, and just as tempting. And Toad was dead, wasn't he? Wasn't it time to admit that and move on? Wasn't it time to wake up?_

_And Pyro was so beautiful, so alive, and he needed her. He needed this. He needed this from her and she could give it to him, she could love him...just tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe..._

_Eden touched his chest, felt his heart hammering. She trailed her fingers down to the edges of his shirt and slipped her hands underneath it. His skin was so warm...and this room was so cold. She felt the soft skin, the muscles beneath, went higher, ran her fingertips and palms over his nipples and he hissed sharply. As she raised her arms, she took his shirt with her, finally lifting it over his head. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him shirtless, but it was the first time she seen him like this-half naked, vulnerable._

_He kissed her. She wrapped her long tongue around his, back and forth, and surprised him with it. He laughed, still with his mouth to hers. "Do that again," he murmured, at the same time reaching under her shirt. His hands were freezing._

"_I'll show you something," she smiled, feeling playful. She extended her tongue and used it to pulled down his zipper, then took it back into her mouth. He stared at her. _

"_Don't stop there," he said._

* * *

Don't stop there.

Pyro...

A soldier was in her path. She dove under his outstretched arm, broke it with a quick swipe of her powerful tongue, leapt onto his back, and before he had time to process his broken arm, she bit into his neck and killed him.

On she went, another and another. They were slower than she was. She had a snake's reflexes and she used them. Her heart was pounding, she was sweating, reawakened muscles trembling.

Pyro...

Caruthers was cornered by two soldiers, aiming weapons at her. She was able to literally pull the ground out from under their feet, but left only one of them stunned enough to pause. The other was faster and aimed his weapon again. Eden leapt and lashed out her tongue, yanked the weapon out of his hand and flung it away. He spun around, in time to see Eden propelling towards him, almost flying. She dove and tumbled, out of his reach, and, crouching low, kicked his feet from under him, then rolled and straddled him. His wide eyes took in her fierce expression and her fangs. "Was it you?" she hissed, though it didn't matter. "Did you kill him?"

"I...I..."

"Never mind." She struck. He was dead in seconds.

Caruthers was staring at her.

Eden knew how she must look, sweating, blood on her face, muscles quivering, breathing hard and open mouthed. She didn't care, moved on, left Caruthers gaping at her. There was a haze of morning fog and smoke hanging in the air. A fire burned, having caught hold of an abandoned tank at the edge of the magnetic shield. Had he started that fire? Was that all that was left of him?

She was drawn to it and got as close as she could without burning herself. Her face stung and her eyes watered in the heat. She should move. It might explode.

Soldiers and vehicles lined the perimeter of the shield. Some of them touched it, one of them shot at it, to no avail. Then, through the hot, wavy air, she saw the line break and several men carrying some kind of machine were let through. They aimed it at the shield.

"Behind you! Behind you!"

Eden spun and dove, hearing the whizz of a projectile just miss her head. Hawk had shouted to her and now took out the soldier who had fired at her.

"Are you alright?" he yelled.

* * *

"_Are you alright?" Pyro asked, suddenly. "Eden? Is this okay?"_

_He had a hand past the waist of her jeans, unzipping them. "Yes, I'm fine."_

"_You have tears in your eyes."_

_Eden did have tears in her eyes. It wasn't anything she could explain to him. In between the pleasure of feeling his lips kiss her mouth and body, she was unable to stop thinking about Toad. And that was wrong. She was here, with Pyro, now. Toad had been gone for two years. She'd seen him get electrocuted by Storm, fall into the Hudson...and never surface. She'd looked for him in the water until she could barely breathe, until she'd nearly drowned from exhaustion._

_Eden answered Pyro by arching her back and pushing her jeans down as far as she could. He pulled them off her, forgot her tears, kissed the inside of her thighs._

_Toad had licked her everywhere with his long, green tongue, done things to her she had only fantasized about. He was rough and sure of himself, but also gentle, in his way, knowing her weaknesses, and how much smaller she was than he. That first and only time, she had felt how hard it was for him to hold back his own strength. He had wanted to be more aggressive, even violent with her. She could see it in his eyes. His violet, violent eyes._

_Pyro was less sure, less experienced. He wanted so badly to please her. Toad had just wanted her, and that was enough. But where Toad had distanced himself from her, not trusting her as she gave herself to him willingly, or perhaps not understanding why she should want to, Pyro was fully present, his emotions raw and fiery, devouring her doubts and her guilt. _

_She'd been alone for a long time and he brought her to orgasm almost easily. His joy at having done so doubled her pleasure, and a tear escaped her eye as relief filled her body. "You want more?" he asked, grinning. She shook her head and reached for him, guided him over her, between her legs, pushed his hair out of his eyes, stroked his face. "Pyro..."_

_Toad had brought her to countless orgasms before he couldn't wait any longer for his own. But before he'd taken her, he had stopped, looked down at her, mouth slightly open, breathing ragged. He'd had her arms pinned down, nails digging into the backs of her wrists. She had been desperate for him then, and let him know with her eyes. "Tell me," he had said, "if I hurt you." She had nodded, although she hadn't been sure if he was asking because he'd wanted to hurt her, or because he hadn't._

* * *

Beyond Hawk, Eden saw Toad killing several soldiers at once and forgot about Pyro for a moment. Toad with his huge, strong arms, his muscular legs, his bloodthirsty appetite.

"Eden! Get up! Move!" Hawk cried to her. "What are you doing?!"

She scrabbled to her feet and was flung forward as the tank exploded behind her. She felt heat rush up her legs and back as she flew and then scraped along the ground, finally skidding to a stop, slamming against the shield. She lay stunned for a moment, disoriented. Hawk had disappeared. Her ears were ringing. Everything was happening in slow motion.

The soldiers who were operating the strange machine had used it to somehow put a hole in the shield, large enough for a man to get through. And it was slowly growing wider.

* * *

_Toad hadn't hurt her. At least, not unpleasantly. _

_He had screamed, a long, releasing growl that had vibrated through her body. Someone might have heard him, but it hadn't mattered. Then, his arms had weakened and he fell lightly on top of her, pressing his face into the curve of her neck, breathing fast. She could feel his wet hair against her face; they'd been swimming not an hour before. She'd stared into the cavernous space above them, filled with a strange joy, aware of everything-the cold stone beneath her back, pressing against her; Toad's body, wet and warm, his breathing, his heartbeat; she could feel the air moving across her eyes, like cold feathers. _

_Eden could also feel that she had _surprised_ Toad...yes, more than pleased him, more than satisfied him; she had surprised him. _

_He'd leaned up on one elbow and stared at her, saying nothing, titling his head in that peculiar way he had, the way that frightened most people but turned her on; his beautiful, webbed fingers pushed her hair from her damp forehead, eyes never looking away from her face. He'd been trying to understand something. He'd been confused. _

_Then he'd seen her hands, where his nails had dug into her wrists, almost bruising them. He'd raised one hand to his face, examining the marks. He'd look from them, to her, then back again, smiled, more pleased than sorry at having left this sign on her of what they'd just done, and then slowly he'd kissed and licked the marks, his soft, thick, warm tongue sliding over the outside and then, more tantalizingly, the inside of her wrists. She'd sighed at the sensation. _

_Wrongly, so wrongly, this is what she was remembering, as Pyro kissed her, as Pyro touched her, as Pyro took her in that hotel room, as he held her afterwards, blissfully unaware of the unfair comparison she'd been compiling her mind. It didn't matter that Toad was dead, or that they'd only been together that one, single time, or that he hadn't said that he'd loved her when she'd said as much to him. It didn't even matter that it felt good to be in Pyro's arms, that she enjoyed his kisses and the feel of him inside her, that she did, truly, love him. None of that meant anything, because it had been Toad and only Toad that she'd ever wanted, and no one would ever fill that horrible void._

_And yet, for a moment..._

* * *

Eden heard the noises around her as if she were underwater. Dull explosions, quiet screams. A high pitched whine overrode everything else.

She was dizzy, but managed to get to her knees. Soldiers were pouring in through the hole in the shield and it would soon be big enough to fit a vehicle through. They didn't seem to notice her, or if they did, she must not have seemed like a threat. She would prove them wrong...if she could just stand up, clear her head, get back into the fight.

She raised her spinning head. A glint caught her eye, something shiny, metallic, perfectly square. She recognized it as Pyro's lighter and a few feet from it, Pyro's open hand. His body was no more than two yards away from her. She gasped and crawled to him, scooping up the lighter.

"Pyro!"

His eyes were open, shocked, surprised, in pain...lifeless. She touched his chest, felt nothing. Felt his neck, no pulse. Clutched his wrist. "Pyro!"

A madness crept over her. She opened the lighter and lit it.

"I don't think that'll help."

A chill ran up her spine. Instinct sharpened her focus. Anger spiked her adrenaline. She knew that voice, and turned her head carefully in its direction.

"Oh, look who it is," the Wolverine said. "Our friendly neighborhood Cobra."

Eden pocketed the lighter. Oh yes, her blood thrummed. Yes, this is what I need. She stood slowly, turning, prepared.

"Sorry about your boyfriend," Wolverine went on, standing casually, not ready for a fight, not expecting one. He didn't know that she was the Serpent of Eden. "Wasn't always the sharpest knife."

Eden didn't move. She waited. He stepped closer. "Please don't hurt me," she whispered.

* * *

The battle had moved nearer to the Lair and the two of them were removed from the main action. Storm, a distance back in the forest, where he'd left her, darkened the sky and rain began to fall outside the shield, running down it. Lightning struck it and capillaries of electricity zigzagged and died and came alive again.

The forcefield wavered and then intensified, but not before a wash of rain got through it and several bolts of lightning made their way to the ground. "Please," the girl said again.

He remembered what Xavier had said about this girl, that she was weak, something had happened to her that had affected her powers and physical strength. There was nothing to be gained by advancing on her. She was unarmed and had her hands up and out. He sighed, turned around.

A tight grip around his ankle told him he'd made a mistake. He looked down. Her long tongue was wrapped around the lower half of his leg. She yanked back and he fell face forward, and then felt himself being dragged along the ground towards her. She released him and he flipped over, ready to spring. She was on him before he could stand, straddling him, smiling. "I changed my mind," she said, "I really would like you to hurt me."

"Happy to oblige," he growled, kneeing her in the back, then punching her in the face to get her off of him. That is, he tried to punch her in the face, but as if he was in slow motion and she on fast forward, her body weaved away from his swung fist, once, twice. She moved like like she had no skeleton, and fast, like she could anticipate his movements.

He caught her with a combination of his fists and his knee. She rolled away and he stood up. Claws extended, he swung. She ducked and kicked, catching his stomach. He swung again, and saw her weave around his arm, lever herself on his shoulders with both hands, scale him with her feet and kick him under his chin, once with a knee and twice with each foot. She was lightning. Flipping in the air after this quick assault, she landed on her feet, ready for more.

Wolverine barrelled into her, knocking her down onto her back. She gasped as the wind was knocked out of her, but her eyes locked with his and suddenly, he was overcome with a feeling of despair, a sadness deeper than anything he had ever known. It was like a lead blanket thrown over him. Where was it coming from? Everything terrible that had ever happened to him flashed through his mind and he couldn't breathe.

The girl put a hand on his chest. "Oh, you are beautiful," she said, and he knew, somehow, that she was doing this to him. That she was creating this misery inside of him...or rather, drawing it out of him, his own buried sadness brought so close to the surface of his soul he was sure it would kill him.

"Stop..." he said, pathetically, furious with himself, with his inability to fight back.

She smiled.

* * *

Another bolt of lightning struck the shield and Rogue saw Magneto tremble and fight to keep it intact. The bolt tore temporary holes in places, rain pouring in and soaking parts of the battlefield. Magneto regained his hold, but he could not do this forever.

"We've gotta go," she mumbled.

He turned sharply towards her. "I don't suppose you care to go out and take care of our little Storm problem?" he said tightly.

She couldn't meet his eyes, but shook her head. "I can't..." she barely whispered.

Several bolts struck at once and Magneto stumbled back. Rogue grabbed him around the waist, preventing him from falling. "Oh my God..." he whispered, but he wasn't looking at her. "He'll kill her."

Rogue followed his gaze and saw Logan and Eden, far across the field, no mistaking either of them. They were fighting. Then suddenly Logan was on top of Eden, holding her down. Magneto shoved Rogue away. "No!" he cried.

He extended his hand, swept it across the empty air. The shield dropped, all of Magneto's power concentrated in one place. Logan went flying across the open field, slammed against a tree and lay still on the ground.

"Logan..." Rogue blinked back tears. She knew he wasn't dead. Nothing could kill him. Why was she crying?

Eden rose up off the ground and looked up. She was looking at them, Rogue could tell. Magneto was struggling, but smiled slightly, seeing her there, alive. It was like a reconciliation between them...across a field of battle.

And explosion too close to Rogue startled her out of the scene. The helicopters were firing again. "The shield!" she screamed. "Magneto!"

He bent his head and with a great cry of struggle and pain, formed the shield again.

Rogue breathed out, her ears humming from the weapons fire. She looked again to where Eden was standing.

But she wasn't standing anymore. She was lying on the ground, shaking and clutching her right leg.

* * *

Eden felt Magneto's rage and fear before she felt the Wolverine lose his grip on her arms, before she felt his weight lift off of her and saw him hurtling through the air, thrust away from her by a great power...a great love.

Magneto.

The rain fell hard now. The shield was down. He had saved her, at the expense of all others. She got to her feet, stared up at the rooftop, at him. Rain soaked through her clothes and dripped down the ends of her hair into her eyes and she felt a sudden, tremendous peace. She tried to share it with him; even at this distance she was sure she could. She reached out to his soul, to his feelings and tried to touch them.

Pain lanced through her right thigh. She gasped, clutching at it. She felt a hard vial sticking out of her skin and pulled it out. More pain! Her leg collapsed from underneath her, numb and heavy.

Eden weaved, tried to stand up. Now both legs lost feeling. She fell onto her side, into the mud. She couldn't feel any part of her lower body. "Toad..." she called. If he were near, he would hear her. "Toad..." No toes, no legs, no hips. Her right fingertips were tingling. Her hand seemed to disappear. She couldn't feel it, couldn't move it.

"Toad!"

The vial. It was in her left hand. She raised it and saw the last miniscule drops of the poison that was taking over her body. Two small red drops. "But how..." she mumbled, as she involuntarily dropped the vial onto her chest, staring at her left hand, which was growing number by the second.

* * *

"Eden!" Rogue screamed from the roof.

Magneto was stunned into silence. He had just saved her. Had she been shot? Had she been Cured?

He started to raise himself from the roof, needing to be near her, to see what was wrong.

Rogue took his arm. "I'll go!" And she was in the air, flying down to the border of the shield to Eden's side.

"Eden!"

"The...vial..." Eden said, her voice slurred. "My..." Her lips moved, but no sound came out. "My..." she tried again.

"Eden! What's happening?"

Eden's lips pursed and forced out, "Poison!" Her eyes filled with tears. "How..."

"Eden...I don't understand!" Rogue started to lift Eden, thinking she would take her back to the Lair, back to Magneto, who would know what to do.

"No! Vial...!" Eden moaned, her words becoming more incoherent. "Toad..."

"I'll find him!" Rogue was crying now. "I will. Let me take you back to the Lair!"

Eden's eyes rolled back into her head. Rogue saw her fight with herself to not lose consciousness, to not die, force her eyes to focus on Rogue's. "Take..." she mumbled, her hand lifting shakily. "Hand..."

"Eden..." But Rogue took her hand, tears streaming down her face. "Don't die."

Eden was shaking her head. "Glove..."

Rogue didn't understand at first, then felt her heart stop. "No."

Eden's eyes widened. She nodded fiercely, breathing shortly, shallowly. Rogue shook her head, tears racing side to side along her cheeks, but she did what Eden asked, stripping her glove from her hand. Before she had a chance to change her mind, Eden grabbed Rogue and, unable to keep her powers at bay, Rogue felt herself lose control. She tried to let go as she saw the familiar bulging veins, the shake, the agony, the abject pain that her powers caused, that _she_ caused to whoever touched her. But however hard she struggled to hold back, Eden fought her and seemed to wrench her powers from her.

Rogue's mind was full of pictures, feelings, moving images too fast to comprehend. She was everywhere at once, as if Eden were downloading herself into Rogue's mind and body. She saw Toad, Magneto, Pyro lying still and dead on the ground. She looked down at her own arm and saw parts of her skin turn green. Eden's hand held so tightly to Rogue's she couldn't pull away, her fingernails dug into her skin. Rogue was able, suddenly, to feel everything...everyone! Pain, elation, fear, anger...everything! The spinning and whirling of memories interwoven with the present moment was overwhelming. Her brain felt like it would split in two. Too much! Too much!

And then...stillness. Everything rested and grew dark and Rogue saw nothing. She only heard.

A single voice that drove terror through her heart.

It was speaking... a faraway echo. What was it saying? This was important, Rogue knew. It was the most important memory.

_"Someday," said the voice, "we will..."_

In a flashing second, Rogue's vision cleared. The only sounds she heard now were the sounds of the fight all around her and not one voice, but hundreds, crying out in rage and pain. She _felt_ them. She _felt_ all of them. All...but one.

Eden.

She lay unmoving on the ground, her dark black and green hair spread over and through the mud. Her lidless eyes were fixed, but not focused.

"Eden?" Rogue choked out. "Eden? EDEN!" She dropped her lifeless hand and shook her by the shoulders. She checked for a pulse and felt nothing but death.

Hot tears streamed down her face. Eden had saved her life, had given her back her life. Eden had been her friend when she was most alone. Eden had loved her. The confused jumble of foreign memories was clear enough to tell Rogue that Eden had truly cared for her.

And now she was dead.

Rogue shook with grief. Screams, explosions, pain, fear, ecstasy, agony, confusion. Pain! Pain! Pain pressing down on her from everywhere. She wrapped her arms around herself. "Eden, help me please..." she moaned. "Help me..."

A shock went through her. She looked up. On the roof of the Lair, Magneto was on his knees. He knew. His grief was like a scream drowning out everything else. And there was something else, stronger than grief, stronger than pain...

Anger.

It filled him and she felt it, absorbed it. A heat coursed through her. She was back outside of City Hall, waiting in an endless line of mutants...waiting to be counted, to be registered.

To be given license to exist.

Magneto was in a line, an endless line of people, waiting to be tattooed, waiting to die.

_Get up!_

Rogue was on her feet, moving to the largest opening in the shield. Soldiers were running through. One of them fired at her. Eden's snake reflexes took over Rogue's body and she avoided the bullets easily and moved on. She was running now. More guns turned toward her. The men and women holding them seemed bemused. What could one small woman to do them? What was she thinking, running towards them like that, all by herself?

Rogue tore a door off an totalled armored vehicle and flung it at them. They fell about like bowling pins. She stopped in front of the fallen soldiers and picked up a dropped Cure weapon. Holding it tightly, she flew out of the opening and high enough to be out of range. The rain was cold and the wind pushed against her, chilling her to the bone.

She could feel her...she wasn't far. Behind her, the lightning was merciless, the shield was failing and Magneto was weak beyond endurance. Where was she?

There!

A pull of great power turned Rogue's attention below her and to her right. She dove into the trees and landed a few feet from her. She pointed the weapon.

"Stop!" she screamed at her. "Stop!"

Storm's white eyes had been gazing upward. Stunned, her attention turned to Rogue.

"Rogue? Rogue! Are you alright?"

"You have to stop!" Rogue cried.

Storm eyed the Cure weapon like it was a living thing in Rogue's hand, a snake poised to strike. "Everything's alright." Her voice sounded soothing, but Rogue could feel her fear. "Everything's going to be fine. You're alright now. You'll come home with us."

"No!" Rogue's hands shook. "You have to stop!"

Storm steadied herself. "You're going to have to pull that trigger to stop me, Rogue, and you don't want to do that."

Rogue held her aim. "I don't want to," she said, "but I will. Stop!"

"Rogue, you don't know what you're saying. You're confused. But we're your family and we all love you. When this is all over, we'll help you."

The rain poured into Rogue's eyes and she swiped it away, along with her tears. "No..." she said. "You're wrong. THIS is wrong!"

Storm held out her hand. "Come on, honey. Come home. Everything's alright."

Rogue held her gaze for a moment, then dropped her head, her arms falling to her sides. Mud and water swirled around her feet. The Cure weapon was a deadweight in her hand. The thunder crashed above her and lightning flashed behind.

_I have betrayed many people in my life_, Magneto had told her and Pyro that night in this same forest. Pyro, who now lay dead in the mud with Eden.

"Rogue, everything's ok," Storm was saying

_People who depended on me, who loved, who trusted in me...I did all this for a single reason—to fight for what I know is right, for what I know is just._ _Can you do the same?_

"Come home to us Rogue. Please. We all love you."

_Can you put aside your loves, your hates, even your consciences, for this fight? Because if you cannot, you should not be here._

"Rogue?"

_I don't know what to do_, Rogue had said to Magneto.

_When the time comes_, he had answered, _you _will_ know_.

"Come on. Let's go home. When this is over, we'll go home. We all love you so much, Rogue."

Slowly, Rogue raised her head and looked up at her, into her white eyes.

"I know," Rogue said and took Storm's outstretched hand.

Storm smiled and in the next moment, her face tensed and her eyes grew wide. She looked down. Rogue's hand was bare against hers. They were skin to skin. She tried to pull away.

Rogue held tighter. "But it doesn't matter," she said, drawing Storm's power out of her.

As Storm shuddered under Rogue's touch, the rain stopped and the wind calmed. The thunder and clouds rolled away and the lightning no longer flashed. Storm eyes darkened to their normal color. Her legs gave out and she went to her knees, trying to speak, trying to plead. Rogue knelt down with her. She needed more.

"ROGUE!"

Logan was behind her, bruised and bloody and pale. She whirled around to face him and what he saw in her caused him to stumble back.

"What did you do?!" he gasped.

She released Storm's hand and the woman fell back into the mud, not dead, but barely conscious. Rogue stood and faced Logan, the Cure weapon still in her hand.

"Put it down," he said.

She pointed it at him.

"Rogue! Put it down!"

"I'm sorry Logan." With Eden's speed and Magneto's anger, with Marvel's perfect aim and her own newfound resolve, she quickly directed the weapon away from Logan and fired it into the prone body of Storm.

"NO!" he screamed and charged her. She was in the air in a second, Logan sprawling into the mud beside Storm. "ROGUE!"

* * *

The rain stopped.

The suddenness of it distracted everyone for a moment.

Cain was holding two soldiers by their kevlar vests and all three of them looked up at the sky. "Would you look at that?" he commented before killing them both.

Without the lightning striking relentlessly against the shield, Magneto would be able to hold out a bit longer. Long enough for them to retreat.

And retreat was their only option now. They all knew it.

"Time to go?"

Toad was by his side, blood on his hands and shoes, a wound in his side, bleeding.

"Hate to say it, but yeah. OY! SILVERPANTS!" His booming voice carried over the battle.

Pietro was in front him like he'd teleported there. "Retreat?" he asked.

"You got it. Get the word out. Everybody in-"

Cain stopped speaking. The sky turned black as night. Toad and Quicksilver followed his gaze upward. A great howling wind filled their ears.

Toad squinted. "What the fuck?"

Above them, just under the dome of the shield, rose a woman, eyes white, hair black, lightning crackling at her fingertips.

"Holy...shit..." Juggernaut's eyes were wide. To Quicksilver he said, "Everyone! Inside! Now! RE-FUCKING-TREAT!"

* * *

Magneto saw her and for a moment was brought back to that terrible moment when he'd understood just how out of his control Jean Grey had truly been. That horrifying realization that he'd unleashed a monster into the world, beholden to no one. Powerless, he had fled for his life. Even if he'd had his powers, he still would have run.

Rogue flew towards him, a mix of too many features both familiar and bizarre. The white eyes of Storm, the green-black hair of Eden, her own stark white skin, tinged pale green in places. She landed gracefully beside him, effortless.

"Rogue?"

"Drop the shield," was all she said.

She raised her arms and a hurricane blew down in front of her, pushing back soldiers and tanks and armored vehicles. Lightning and hailstones rained down on them and they fled. Magneto's people ran in the opposite direction, into the Lair. Not one of them was touched by the hellstorm Rogue directed at the invaders. He watched in awe as on every side of the island a tempest began to rage, but they, the Brotherhood, were in the eye of it.

The remaining helicopters tried to fly above the storm. Magneto pulled them down into it. They broke apart in the raging air. He stretched his powers out further and found the heavy steel of the aircraft carriers and other ships he knew were out there. Together, he and Rogue pushed them away from the island.

He didn't know how long the two of them had been up there, but he suddenly became aware of the absence of the ships and helicopters. He laid his hand on her arm.

"They're gone," he said over the roar of rain and wind.

Her eyes met his and he saw them change...the white fading into the slit-pupiled eyes of Eden. She was crying.

The storm died down until it stopped altogether.

Exhausted, relieved, he held her shoulders in both hands. "They're gone Rogue."

She said nothing, but her tears flowed as freely as the rain she'd just stopped. Her shoulders shook and he found himself compelled to pull her close to him. She resisted at first, then her sorrow overwhelmed her. She allowed him to hold her and he felt her sobbing against him. "They're gone."

* * *

Eden's body was just as Rogue had left it, though it had sunk deeper into the mud and the vial that had been on her chest had blown away. But somehow, she hadn't been crushed by the retreating soldiers. Her eyes were still and lifeless. There were small puddles in the palms of each hand.

Magneto and Rogue had descended from the roof before the others had begun to venture out of the Lair. He had wanted to see Eden first.

Rogue knew he needed to see her before Toad did.

He looked older standing there, older than he'd ever seemed to Rogue. He wasn't crying, but he didn't seem to be breathing either. She knew his true feelings...felt that hollow emptiness inside of him that Eden had filled.

Someone approached her. She turned. "Cain..." she started to say, but choked up when she saw his face and knew there was nothing she could say.

"No..." he breathed. This giant of a man seemed small somehow; his jovial face becoming gray and filling with sadness. "Is she...?" he asked.

Rogue nodded. "I was...with her."

Cain looked at her closely, at her eyes especially, and at her hair. "What happened?" he asked darkly.

Rogue knew what he must be thinking. "She was...she was dying. She _made_ me. I think she was trying to tell me something but she couldn't speak. When I touch people I don't just get their powers. I see their memories. She was trying to tell me something. And then..."

"What was she trying to tell you?"

Rogue's throat felt like it was closing. She shook her head. "I don't know..."

"Maybe..." Cain said, sounding confused and terribly sad, "maybe...it'll come to you." He touched her hair. "Least she wasn't alone. I loved that girl."

Rogue nodded. She took his hand in her gloved one. "I'm sorry I couldn't save her."

His eyes were dark and glassy. He nodded and turned to look at the body again and she saw him shudder.

Magneto had said nothing, had not moved. He was just staring at Eden, still and cold as a statue.

Cain wanted to speak and finally, all he could say was, "Magneto..."

No response. He continued to stare at the dead woman, not moving, not reaching down to touch her.

"Magneto?"

* * *

He knew someone was calling his name but he heard nothing, or, if he heard it, he did not process it. It was like someone calling to you in a dream. Hollow, dead.

"Dead?" he must have said aloud.

"What'll I tell him?"

Tell him…_tell _him? To tell is to relate a piece of news, a fragment of information. Telling involved speaking. Speaking involved words. What words were there for this?

"He's coming."

He gathered his wits, his vocabulary. "Well, if he's coming," he said slowly, "then we don't have to tell him anything." Magneto turned. "Do we?"

Toad came up behind Cain, a smile on his face. He looked at Rogue. "Well, aren't you full of surprises?" he said. Rogue swallowed, but couldn't speak, couldn't look at him. He frowned. "You alright?"

When she didn't answer, he looked to Magneto for an explanation and Magneto saw it: that moment he registered Eden's body on the ground. He froze. Looked again at Magneto. Magneto locked eyes with him but did not speak.

Toad weaved, started to move, stopped. His mouth opened and closed, like he was trying to say something, but was choking to death. Then at last, a sound-a scream, a howl, an inhuman cry-poured out of him.

Rogue cowered and covered her face with her hands, as if the sound hurt her physically.

Toad was on his knees and crawled to Eden's side, the blood on his hands and shoes mixing with the wet earth. He reached out but stopped short of touching her. "She's not...she's not..." he finally said.

"Yes she is," Magneto whispered.

Toad turned up to him and Magneto saw that little boy again, terrified, confused. "NO!" he screamed up at him. "NO!" He grabbed the legs of Magneto's pants. "PLEASE!" he begged, senselessly, as if Magneto could change what had happened, as if Magneto were God. "PLEASE!"

Magneto felt Toad's eyes on him like they were burning embers, hot blades piercing his hard heart. "There's nothing I can do," he said.

Toad tilted his head to side, then shook it. "No, no," he whispered, "no." He looked disgusted and spun back to Eden's body. "Eden? EDEN!" When he reached to grab her, Magneto wrenched his arm back. "LET ME GO!" Toad yanked his arm back with such force that Magneto stumbled and fell in the mud.

He saw that the remaining members of the Brotherhood had begun to gather around them, waiting for orders.

"We have to go now Toad," Magneto said quietly.

He wanted to touch her, but he couldn't. His hand pulled back each time, until finally he wrapped his arms around himself, rocking back and forth. "We can't...we can't just...leave her here!" he gasped through his tears.

"We have no choice."

Toad was shaking his head, his eyes red, his voice thick. "No, no! She's...she's not... We were just... I just spoke with her... She is not dead!"

Magneto put his hand on Toad's shoulder. "Toad. We have to go."

Toad was crying so hard his whole body was shaking. "We can't..."

Magneto took Toad lightly by the arm and turned him so that they were face to face. "Mortimer. We have to leave. Now."

Toad looked up at him, eyes swimming and wild with grief. "Boss..." was all he managed to say, but Magneto heard the plea in that one word, the desperation.

He put his hand on the back of Toad's neck and pressed his forehead against the other man's. "My boy," he said as Toad coughed and wept. "My boy."


	15. Chapter 15: Need

**Chapter 15: Need**

Alone.

Alone.

There was dirt under his fingernails. There was blood under the dirt.

_I don't know who you are._

"But you were mine," he mumbled, staring at the dirt, at the blood.

Blood.

There was dried blood on his shirt. He touched it and then pushed on the wound underneath. Fresh blood wet his fingers, hot, sticky.

He shook his head, looking at his blood. "I'm still alive."

"You should go get that looked at, mate."

Cain's voice was painful in his ears. He turned to him and raised his wet, red fingers. "I'm still alive."

"Yeah, you are."

_I don't know who you are_. One of the last things he'd said to her.

Cain was watching him closely. "Look, Toad, I don't even...I don't know what to say. I-"

A thought came to Toad suddenly. "Where's Pyro?" he asked.

Cain looked confused. "Pyro?"

Toad opened his left hand and showed Cain the silver square. "I found his lighter. Where is he? I have to...I have to give it back."

Cain paused, then said, "He's dead."

The lighter grew heavy and cold in his hand. So, he had failed in that, too. He hadn't been able to keep his last promise to Eden.

He clenched his fist around the lighter and frowned, shaking his head. "But I'm still alive."

The metal warmed in his palm. He felt Cain put a hand on his shoulder and say something. Then, he was gone.

Toad was empty. He was cold.

But he was still alive. For some damned reason, he was still alive.

* * *

_He is watching her from across the room. His hands are resting against his bent knees as he crouches on the balls of his feet. His fingers curl and uncurl, up and down, scratching against the fabric. She can feel every part of him. She can feel his eyes on her without looking up. He is like a magnet for her powers-drawing her towards him, pulling her in. He doesn't know yet that his attraction to her is more than just lust; that what he feels is about more than the fact that she is only one of two women on this lonely island; that what he wants is more than just her body. He doesn't know any of that yet, not consciously, but she does. She feels it and waits for him to feel it, too._

"Are you ok?"

The memory faded away when Rogue heard Hawk speaking to her, felt his hand lightly touch her arm. She could still see Toad's violet eyes in her mind even as she looked up into Hawk's soft amber ones. "What...what did you say?"

Hawk sat beside her on the bench. The feel of his leg resting against hers made her blood vibrate. "I asked if you were okay."

"I don't know. I'm fine. I guess..." She tried to drag her mind out of a past that wasn't hers, tried to focus on the moment she was actually in. She looked down again at Hawk's strong thigh.

_….his fingers curl and uncurl, up and down, scratching against the fabric..._

Rogue shook her head. "Your shoulder," she said, suddenly remembering. She saw it had already been bandaged. "I'm sorry. I forgot..."

"It's alright, jameela." He raised his hand and stroked her hair. "You saved us today. You know that, don't you? We would have lost many more if you hadn't done what you did."

Rogue felt anger rise in her throat. "You don't know what I did."

He continued to run his fingers through her hair. "Tell me," he said, and there was no laughter in his eyes or sarcasm in his voice.

_Tell me...if I hurt you._

Over Hawk's shoulder, she saw him and felt him as Eden always had. He was dark and heavy with grief and directionless passion; seeing him was like seeing an eclipse...she knew she should look away before it grew dangerously bright and blinded her, but she couldn't. He looked up and caught her gaze.

_He is watching her from across the room..._

"Rogue?"

Toad turned and disappeared down the steps. She stood and started to walk away from Hawk. He took her arm and she looked down, startled. "I...I'm sorry," she managed to say, "I have to..." She moved away and the unfinished sentence hung in the air between them. Hawk's confusion and disappointment were as real to her as if the emotions were her own.

_He is like a magnet for her powers-drawing her towards him, pulling her in._

Rogue followed Toad below deck, past the living quarters and through a door that led into the small, loud engine room. She closed it behind her and he stopped walking. He spoke without turning around. "You were with her?"

She didn't answer, stepped closer, put her hand on his back. He stiffened, drawing in a quick breath. He spun around, about to say something, his eyes dark and angry. Her hand lingered on his arm. She wasn't afraid of his anger and whatever Toad had wanted to say left his lips as he looked down at her face.

"Your eyes..." he whispered. "Your eyes."

He touched her face and she held back her powers. They stared at each other for a long time, breathing faster and faster.

And then she kissed him, felt him resist at first, then give in. She felt his mind and body relax a moment...and then, catch fire. The kiss deepened, his lips were hard against hers and his long tongue was warm. He grabbed hold of her arms, yanking her closer to him, into him. She reached up and raked her fingers through his hair. His hand lowered and pressed into the small of her back, pushing her hard against him.

They broke the kiss at the same time. They breathed together, stared into each other. "I'm sorry..." Rogue whispered.

Toad leaned his forehead against hers and let out a shuddering breath. Then, he cupped the back of her neck in his hand, tilted her face upward and kissed her again. She could feel his tears on her face.

She put her arms around him. They weren't in this engine room, on this boat. They were by the black pools under the stars, they were in the forest in bright daylight, they were in their bedroom, the ocean echoing through the window.

And everywhere, she felt him like he was a part of her, like he was hers and she was his.

Toad's hands stroked down her arms, her legs. He grabbed her under her thighs and lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, held him around his neck, kissed him and kissed him and kissed him. He turned and slammed her back against the wall and she gasped. The look in his eyes was scalding, small tear drops ran down his cheeks.

"Toad..." she moaned his name.

He buried his face against her neck, his breath hot, his tongue thick and wet, and she heard him whisper, "Eden."

* * *

The boat could barely hold them all, but it did. They'd left no one behind...only the dead.

Magneto clutched the rail until his knuckles whitened, trying with all his might to contain the loud scream inside of him.

Pyro. If he hadn't been killed in the battle, Magneto would have gladly strangled the boy with his own hands. No powers, no metal, just skin to skin. He imagined the feeling of Pyro's throat yielding under his thumbs, the purpling lips, the widening, blood-shot eyes. But there was no chance of that. No vengeance.

He remembered Eden telling him once that he, Magneto, was more important than all of his followers combined. She'd told him that as long as he lived, even if they should all die, the cause would survive. But if he died, and they all lived, the cause would die with him.

And if she died? She hadn't told him what would happen if she died, what he was supposed to do.

It was night now. The stars were startlingly bright, but the moon was a scarcely visible curve in the sky. Between Rogue and Magneto's combined powers, he couldn't guess how far they'd pushed back the invaders, or how much damage they had done, but surely it had been significant. After retreating from the island, they had all worked to keep themselves hidden until nighttime. Frequency had used his powers to disrupt any radio signals he felt around them and Vanish had strained herself past endurance to keep the boat and all on it invisible for as long as possible. Rogue had used the lingering powers of Storm to create a thick fog around them when Vanish had exhausted herself. Magneto used his powers to control and confuse any radar directed at them. All in all, they had remained unseen, but not unsought.

Magneto was sure they could reach their destination undetected if they split into three groups when they landed, destroyed the boat and met up at the rendezvous point. Although, what would happen when they reached that point he could not be certain. The man he sought he had not seen in many years. He couldn't be sure if he was still in the Shenandoah Valley or if he'd moved on to an even more reclusive place. But Magneto didn't know where else to go, with the few resources they had and the amount of people he had with him.

"Mags, you alright?"

Magneto had heard the unmistakable footsteps of the large mutant and had hoped he would just walk by and leave him to his thoughts. "No." He turned to the Juggernaut with an icy glare. "Are you?"

Cain looked away. "So," he finally said, "who's this fella we're goin t'visit then?"

Magneto shook his head. "Someone I haven't seen in a very long time."

Cain waited for a more thorough explanation and when he didn't receive one, he said, "Friend? Acquaintance? Old boyfriend?"

The metal rail flattened in Magneto's grip. He nearly tore it in half. "Are you joking?" he hissed. "Now? You're here making jokes?! Are you insane?!"

Juggernaut held up his hands. "Hey, back off. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Have you taken one moment, one single moment in your entire life to think before you say something?!" The boat began to tremble. "Is there even a spark of intelligence in you? Or are you just a thick, stupid circus bear, doing tricks for everyone, showing us all how strong you are?"

Juggernaut's face darkened and he slammed his fist down on the rail, bending it into a V before pointing a finger in Magneto's face. "I don' care who the fuck you are. You don' get to talk to ME like that old man! Not after everyfing I've done-"

"Everything you've done?! What have YOU done? Did you save her? Did you even see her? For all your height and strength, did you EVEN SEE HER?!"

"ME?! YOU were on the fucking ROOF!" he yelled. "Did YOU see her?!"

Magneto was shaking. He stared at Cain, ready to kill him. But kill him for what? Was he going to punish Cain for what he himself had failed to do? His shoulders slumped and all the fight left him in an instant. "Yes," he whispered.

Cain gaped at him. "You-," he sputtered, "you-SON OF A BITCH!" He grabbed Magneto by the shirt. "You saw her?! You SAW her?! And you couldn't stop that needle? THAT TINY LITTLE NEEDLE?!" Cain shook him. "You tear apart helicopters and tanks! You build a fucking forcefield to protect us," he spat, "but you couldn't stop a tiny little needle?! And you stand there and fucking look at me like it's MY fucking fault?! If I'd known...if I'd seen..." He was losing his voice now. "Don't you think I would have saved her? Don't you KNOW it?" He gripped the shirt tighter, lifted Magneto off the floor and spoke through clenched teeth, "Don't you know that?" He let go and pushed him away. Magneto caught himself on the boat rail.

He watched as Cain tried to calm himself, taking deep breaths and looking away from Magneto, out at the sea. "What is it?" he went on in a strained voice. "What? I didn't cry enough for you? I didn't kill enough for you? Do you know how many men I crushed in my hands and under my feet today?" He laughed bitterly and turned his head toward Magneto again. "And I missed the one guy that mattered. The one who picked her out and killed her. One man. Makes all the difference in the world."

Magneto had no words, just as he'd had none on the battlefield, looking down at the wide-eyed body of his precious Eden.

"You're a fucking prick," Cain said. "I loved that girl." And with that, he walked away.

Magneto stared at the space where the Juggernaut had been standing, stunned. After some time, he let himself sink onto the deck. He leant his head against the cold bar and stared up at the sky. The stars were blurry to his tear-filled eyes.

* * *

_"There is a line between good and evil," Magneto is saying, as she pours him a cup of tea. "I'm not sure which side I'm on sometimes."_

_She cups a warm mug in her hands and lets the steam rise against her face and into her open eyes. "There is no good or evil."_

_"Only thinking makes it so?" he smiles wryly._

_"I don't know." She watches him drink his tea. It is an awkward movement; the heavy bandages get in the way. "Are you afraid of using the girl? For the machine?"_

_He bows his head and looks down at his bandaged, burnt hands. "If I don't, I'll die."_

_She is sitting on the floor, but rises now to her knees and takes his hands gently. "No. You can't die. You can't."_

_His grey eyes bore into hers. "Am I not a hypocrite to use a mutant, to kill a mutant, in order to save mutants?"_

_She kisses his hands. "I don't know. But I do know that you cannot die."_

Rogue woke on the floor of the engine room. She could feel that she was mostly naked, but a large jacket, Toad's jacket, was wrapped around her like a sleeping bag. Her own clothes formed a kind of pillow under her head. Her feet were cold and she pulled them up under the heavy coat, curling her knees up against her.

She didn't feel guilty, though she knew she should have. She didn't feel sad. Instead, all she felt was a warm fullness inside of her. She had no desire whatsoever to leave this noisy room, to get up off this floor which felt somehow like the most comfortable bed in the world.

The last thing she remembered was Toad carrying her gently to the floor, wrapping her in his jacket and asking, and after a moment's silence, "What was your name?"

Sleep had been coming over her. "What?"

"Before you were Rogue. What was your name?"

Her eyes had closed. "Marie."

"Marie."

She'd started to nod off, but forced herself to ask, "Why?"

He'd been quiet for a time, and then, just as she'd begun to fall asleep, she'd heard him say sadly, "I never asked her."

When she'd opened her eyes again, he had disappeared and her clothes were bunched underneath her head. She hadn't even felt him do it.

She pulled the jacket tighter around her body and thought of Eden. Why had she taken Rogue's hand like that? What was she trying to tell her? Rogue's mind was full of foreign feelings and memories, not just Eden's, but Marvel's too. Three voices bounced around in her head, but Eden's, somehow, drowned them all out.

"What is it?" Rogue whispered. "What did you want me to know?"

Eden's love for Toad? For Magneto? No, there was something more. Something important.

_Someday we will..._

That cold voice sounded in her mind again and Rogue shuddered at the thought and sound of this thing she didn't understand. She didn't know whose voice that was. She had never heard it before. It chilled her to her core. Rogue was as afraid of it as she knew Eden had been, and that fear ran so deep, she couldn't face it.

But it's important... Rogue knew it was.

She yanked Toad's jacket over her head, hiding from her own thoughts and those of the two women who shared her mind.

* * *

Juggernaut walked furiously down the stairs that led down to the living quarters, kitchen and engine room. When he got to the bottom, he stopped. Where was he going? He didn't want to be with all the people in the room to his right with all their sadness and all their talking. He'd done enough fucking talking. There might be people in the kitchen, too. "Fuck," he muttered. He wouldn't go back on deck with that wanker he worked for, not tonight, that was for sure.

He heard an unsteady breath and in the dark corner to his left, leaning against the bottom step, he saw Vanish. Fuck.

She was looking at him, a strange expression on her pale face. He frowned. "Van?"

"Cain?" she said feebly.

"You alright?" He stepped toward her.

"I..." she looked around her and the movement seemed to cause her pain. "I'm cold..."

"Then what're you doin' at the bottom of the fuckin' stairs?"

Vanish looked at him again and suddenly her eyes rolled back and her head hit the wall behind her. "Hey!" He knelt down next to her, lifted her head in his huge hand. He saw now that she was deathly pale and her skin was freezing. "Van? Van! Vanish!" He slapped her face as gently as he could, but firmly. She opened her eyes.

"I'm cold," she whispered. And her head fell against his chest.

Cain scooped her up in his arms. She started to faint again. "No, no, darlin'," he told her, "that's not allowed. What's wrong with you? You sick or what?"

"I'm cold."

"Yeah, I know that part." He thought for a moment. "How long've you been down 'ere?"

"Since...since...the fog..." she mumbled.

"Shit. You eaten or drunk anything? Oy, Van," he shook her as she started to pass out again. "When's the last time you ate somefing?"

"I don't know."

Cain carried her into the kitchen and held her in one arm as he searched the cabinets. They were pretty well-stocked and he quickly found a granola bar. He sat in one of the chairs and kept her on his lap, holding her up. "Eat this."

He had to open it for her and practically shove it in her mouth before she lifted one hand to take hold of it. She chewed slowly with an absent look on her face, but stayed conscious.

Cain reached to open the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. "Drink this."

"Okay..."

He watched her eat and drink until she'd finished everything. "Better?"

Vanish nodded slowly. "I think so." She rested her head against his shoulder.

"Silly girl," he said, "use up all your strength and don't eat. Dehydrated. Gotta take better care of yourself, right?"

"Mm," was the only reply he received. She relaxed against him and closed her eyes.

"Hey, I am not a bed, alright?"

"But you're comfy," she said sleepily.

Cain's scowl was lost on Vanish. Then he sighed, wrapped his arm more closely around her and leaned back against the wall behind the chair. "Alright, for a minute, yeah?" She didn't answer and he figured there were worse things in life than having a pretty girl sitting on your lap and falling asleep against your shoulder.

* * *

She'd looked for him below deck and not found him. On deck, she only saw Magneto, who noticed her before she could double back.

"Rogue," he called. He looked tired and old. She could tell he hadn't slept.

Rogue didn't want to speak to him. Seeing him now reminded her of who she was becoming and what she had done.

"How are you?" he asked gently when she reached him.

"I killed people yesterday," she answered, "and this morning I'm drinking apple juice."

Magneto gestured for her to sit beside him on the bench. They didn't touch, but Rogue could feel him as if he had his arm around her. He'd held her yesterday. He'd tried to kill her four years ago. A numbness began to envelope her. If it wasn't for Eden's empathic powers, Rogue doubted she'd be able to feel anything.

"The first man I killed," she heard Magneto say, "had been a torturer in the camps. One of many." Rogue could see the tattoo on his inner forearm. "Many doctors conducted experiments on me. But he went further than that. He made me do tricks at Nazi functions and house parties, even at his youngest son's birthday party."

Rogue looked up at his face and saw the way he smiled as he told this story, but that his jaw was tight, his fists were clenched and his eyes were dark. And more than that, she could feel his anger and hate inside of her. She, in turn, became angry and full of hate. This is how Eden lived. Rogue didn't envy her.

Magneto went on. "I didn't know then how powerful I was. I didn't know it for a long time." He shook his head. "When the war was over and we were-" he laughed a little, "free, I tried to pretend that I had no powers. I was ashamed of them. I had survived the camps because I had been a source of interest and amusement for the men who had murdered my parents, my friends...everyone I had ever known. I began to think that I should have killed myself rather than entertain them. Death was preferable to shame. Then I started to wonder why I hadn't used my powers to pick up a knife and kill one of them, just one, even if it meant my own death."

Rogue felt a tear gather in her eye. Whose pain was she feeling? She couldn't bear it.

And looking at the man beside her, she wondered, how could he bear it? How had he borne it, all these years?

"Why didn't you?" she whispered.

Magneto turned his eyes to her. "I did. In the end."

He relaxed his clenched fists. "I found him in a shop one day. Completely by chance. I was living in England then. And there he was. In London, in the bakery, picking out a loaf of bread...just like I was. I started to shake. I stepped back behind a display. I watched him. I followed him home. I waited all evening. When it was dark, I stepped up to his door. I used my powers for the first time in years to break the lock. I stepped inside. I heard a radio and I followed the sound. He looked up when he heard me and pointed a gun at me. He'd seen me follow him. He'd known all along I was coming."

Rogue's heart was slamming against her breastbone. She pressed her hand against it and felt how it shook. She felt a fear in the pit of her stomach that meant nothing to her, a heady dizziness that belonged to Magneto, not to her. She wanted to tell him to stop, she didn't want to hear anymore. But she couldn't find the words.

"He said, in English, 'If it's money you want, I haven't any. I won't hesitate to shoot you.' And I realized that he didn't recognize me. I said in German, 'My name is Eric Magnus Lensherr.' I pulled up my sleeve to show him and when he saw the numbers, he fired. I don't know how I managed it after so many years of not using my powers, but I stopped the bullet just before it struck me and I stopped the next one and the next and the next until his cartridge was empty." Magneto was far away now, seeing all of this again. His eyes were focused on the distant past, as if that man in that kitchen were right in front of him. "I took the gun. It flew into my hand. I reloaded it. I pointed it at him. He put up his hands and he said, 'Nein, Kleine Magnet, nein.' Little Magnet. That's what he always called me in the camps. The second I saw that he knew who I was, I shot him."

Rogue felt a charge go through her, like he'd shot her, too. She was breathing so fast. "When you...after...how did you-"

"I felt like a murderer," he answered. He didn't need to hear the whole question. "I went to a bar. I got very drunk. And I hated myself. I hated what I'd had to do." He put his hand on her arm and held tight, looking at her, into her. "But it had to be done."

_The taste of blood in her mouth is as disgusting as it is joyous. She trembles inside and out. The mutant Cain Marko has made it possible for her to attempt escape. The ground shakes with every crash of his foot and every slam of his fist as he tears at equipment, breaks through walls and kills every person in his path just by pushing them aside. Up until this point, she's been following him at a short distance, hoping to get away in the wake of his destruction, like stepping into someone else's shoe prints in the snow. But he's missed someone. Someone, a doctor or a nurse, who has hidden from Cain but has tried to grab her. To her own surprise, and his especially, she has managed to sink her teeth into his arm and now the blood floods between her fangs, warm and thick, and drips down her chin. She pumps her poison into him and somehow she knows when he starts to die. He slumps down as she rises, spitting out his blood. Wide-eyed, he stares at her in shock and then...he dies. She has killed him._

Rogue dry heaved over the side of the boat as she remembered Eden's first kill. She stared at the sun's reflection in the water until her vision vibrated with a green haze. "Where's Toad?" she gasped.

"Toad?" Magneto asked, sounding startled. "Out there somewhere," he gestured to the sea.

Her heart clamped. "What?!"

"He's swimming." Magneto was eyeing her strangely. "I saw him earlier."

"It must be freezing in there..." She looked across the water, expecting to see him any moment, and then squeezed her eyes shut against the painful glare.

A sensation of darkness filled her, then, a sudden falling inside of her, like in a dream. She rested in it, let her heart and mind be enveloped by it and everything inside her stilled. Her heart slowed and she breathed in a deep sense of melancholic peace. Toad...

When she opened her eyes again, he was above water a short distance away. He tilted his head questioningly when he met her gaze, dived under again and she could see him gliding back to the boat. Then he leaped effortlessly onto the deck. He stood before her, water streaming down his body, naked but for a pair of shorts. He didn't say anything, but she saw the concern in his eyes.

Rogue could feel the suspicion rising in Magneto as he watched them. She had to ignore it. "I-your coat. I thought you'd be cold."

"Keep it," Toad said quietly. "I'm fine."

She looked at Magneto and then back at Toad and said under her breath, "I need to talk to you."

Toad nodded.

He walked away and she started to follow him, but Magneto's voice stopped her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said, her head thrumming. "I'm fine. I have to talk to him. About Eden."

"What about Eden?" he demanded, taking her arm, his voice changing from angry to desperate.

"Nothing..." She needed to get away from him, get to Toad. She needed Toad. "I'll tell you... if she wants me to."

Rogue pulled away and Magneto released her. She didn't look back but that didn't stop her from being engulfed by his confusion and pain and despair.

* * *

In the engine room, Toad shook the water from his body and hair and pulled his shirt over his head. Rogue came in, pale and glassy-eyed. He tried not to look at her, tried not to feel her presence, tried not to be drawn to her, but he found himself taking her shoulders in his hands and looking down on her frightened face, trying to avoid her eyes. "What is it?" he whispered. "Did I hurt you?"

She kissed him and he closed his eyes. Her lips weren't Eden's lips, but her kiss was the same. It ended quickly and she rested her hand against his face. "She loved you. She loved you so much more than I can tell you."

Toad choked back tears. "Don't tell me that. It doesn't matter. She's dead."

She took his hand and brought it to her chest. He felt her skin and her heartbeat. "She's here," Rogue breathed, "and here," touching the side of her head. "Inside me. She gave me everything."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" His voice quavered and he hated himself.

"I can taste blood in my mouth."

"Rogue!" he shook her. "What the fuck is going on?"

She looked off beyond him at nothing. "She made me take her hand and she... poured everything into me. Every feeling, every memory."

Toad froze. "You have...her memories? Like...like with Marvel? She gave you..."

"Yes!"

Toad couldn't speak. He couldn't bear this.

"There's more," Rogue said, gripping his arm tightly, "there's more, but I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you."

"More? More what?" She kissed him again. He pushed her away. "More what?!"

"Secrets..." Rogue whispered. "Things you don't know."

Toad thought he would collapse. He thought he would die. He grabbed the sides of her head and made himself look at her. It was Eden's eyes he looked into. Eden's eyes in someone else's face. His mind began to splinter and crack. "I didn't know you at all, did I?" he wept. "I didn't know you at all."

Eden's eyes were crying, too. She pressed into him. "I need you."

A part of him wanted to let this happen again, give in and forget everything, if only for a few mad moments. But she wasn't Eden and it was Eden he wanted. He would want her for the rest of his life. "Don't do this to me, please," he begged her.

"I need you," she said again.

"I need _her_."

"Let _me_ be her!"

He felt his hands move around her waist with a will of their own. "Fuck..." he hissed and furiously tipped her face to his and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. "You're not her!" He kissed her again. "You're not her!"

She kissed his neck. She pulled up the ends of his shirt.

"You're not," he moaned weakly, defeated. "You're not..."

The shirt went up over his head. She kissed his chest. He pulled his jacket off of her and let it fall to the floor. She took his hand and pulled him down to the floor with her, lying on top of the jacket. "You're not her." He pulled off her jeans. He put himself between her legs. "You're not her."

He said it over and over and over again, with each push, with each movement. He said it until she smothered his scream with her mouth.

And when he was finished and looked down at her, crying freely, he pushed her sweat-dampened hair off of her face. "You're not her." She was crying, too. He kissed her forehead. "But I'll take care of you, I swear. I'll take care of you."

Rogue stared at him, touched his face and his shoulders. Then she hugged him fiercely and pulled him to her. "She loved you," she whispered into his ear. "I love you."

* * *

_Pyro stood over her, smiling._

_"You're dead," she whispered._

_"Maybe," he said. "But you're not. So you'd better fucking move."_

_"I can't."_

_"Yes, you can."_

_Pain, like a thousand knife stabs, coursed through her right leg. She stifled a scream and gritted her teeth. "What's happening?"_

_Pyro started to walk away._

_"Help me! Please!" she begged him._

_"I can't. I'm probably dead."_

Eden's eyes cleared as the pain spiked. Pyro's image was replaced by a blinding light and then the outline of clouds. Her eyes adjusted. She was lying at the edge of the open field. She lifted her hands to grab hold of her leg, as if that would stop the pain, but the only thing that moved was her upper left arm and elbow. She had no hands.

"Fuck!" she cried out, looking down at herself, her head lifting painfully. She saw her hands, but couldn't feel them. She looked down at her left leg, but she couldn't feel it either. Another stab of pain shot through her stomach and back. "Pyro, God, help me! Toad!"

Eden turned her aching head and saw his body a few feet away, Pyro wide-eyed and staring unseeing at her. Her heart dropped. He was dead. "No, no, no," she moaned. "Please..." Her voice was thick, her throat tight.

Except for birdsong and the crash of the ocean, all was silent and she knew she was alone. They were all dead...that, or they'd left her behind. She wished and prayed it was the latter.

Eden listened. "That's not the ocean," she murmured to herself. The crashing was too loud and too close. Then she felt a rumble under her back. The ground shook with what could only be an earthquake...or heavy vehicles, tanks, trucks and the footfalls of hundreds of men.

The army was taking the island. They would come and they would find her. Suddenly, the fingers of her left hand screamed back to life. Hot tears filled her eyes as she held back another cry.

She was nearly immobilized with pain, but with a force of will, she flipped herself onto her stomach. If she could reach the forest, just there beyond the edge of the clearing, if she could climb a tree, she might be safe for the time being. The canopy of leaves and her own green skin would conceal her from helicopters and planes. And if she could get high enough, she wouldn't be seen from the ground either. She'd hidden from Toad a dozen times in the same fashion, waiting for him to find her and take her there in the trees, or on a bed of leaves on the forest floor.

There was a long, deep puddle pooled near her, spilling out into the forest. She dragged herself into it, then turned and splashed the water over her drag marks to hide them. She faced the forest again and dug her left fingers into the muddy ground and pulled, while her right leg pushed her forward. Her fingers ached and felt fat, but at least she felt them. The crashing grew louder, voices carried on the wind. Mud covered her arms as she pulled herself through the water. Her clothes were soon soaked, making her deadweight limbs even heavier.

"Come on, come on," she said through gritted teeth.

The pain was almost unbearable. Her heart pounded with adrenaline. Dig into the mud, pull. Slide into the mud, push. Her foot kept slipping on the wet earth, losing purchase. "Please, please, please." Pull, push, drag. Pull, push, drag.

Finally, she reached a large oak with a low lying limb. She wrapped her arm around it and pushed up with her right leg. It was agony, but she made herself ignore it. Her left leg was leaden. Her numb right arm hung useless at her side. She stood carefully on the limb, teetering with fatigue.

Eden stopped for breath, but the voices were close enough now that she was starting to make out words. She heard, "Gurneys...equipment...dozens..." And then, "Move it, goddammit."

"Fuck me," she hissed, and pulled herself up to another limb, draping the middle of her body over it, then throwing her good leg up over the side. She sat up and balanced precariously, holding on to the tree by gripping it tight between her thigh and calf, and holding on to the limb beside her with her hand. She rested her head on the trunk. "Help me, help me," she breathed. She was six feet off the ground. It wasn't enough.

Eden looked up. The next limb was just over five feet up, less than an inch higher than she was. "I can't," she whispered, her breathing coming hard and fast. But if she could, she'd be safe.

But would she ever truly be safe? They'll find me. Someone will find me. I can't stay in this tree forever. If I surrender...if I give up... Or better, if she attacked them, they

might kill her.

"Come on," said a strong, commanding voice, "let's move it!"

"No need to hurry them, General. We have all the time in the world."

Eden's heart stopped. That voice...that Voice! Clipped, cold, it froze her. She had no chance, no chance. After all these years, he'd found her, as she'd always known he would. Even killing him hadn't stopped him.

She couldn't move. I'll just stay here until he finds me. I'll stay here and wait for him. The harder I fight, the worse it will be.

"Dr. Weir, I told you to wait until we secured the area."

"While I appreciate your concern, General, you'll remember that I am not under your command."

Eden shook uncontrollably. He ran his fingers through her hair...down her face...opened her mouth to touch her teeth. She tasted latex. She longed to bite him, but she was too afraid. For the first time in her life, she wished for eyelids. If she were able to close her eyes, at least she wouldn't have to see him smile...

MOVE! her mind screamed at her. "Move..." she groaned. "Eden move!"

She stood up slowly, back pressed against the trunk to steady herself, putting all her weight on her throbbing leg.

She reached for the limb, but couldn't get a good grip on it. Her nails scraped the bark. She started to panic, tears filling her eyes. She couldn't stop shaking.

"The area isn't safe, sir," argued the General.

"My dear General," Weir responded, "I assure you it is safe. A field of sleeping mutants. The survivors are long gone, as you know."

Survivors. Long gone. Relief flooded through her. Magneto must be alive. He must be. And Toad...was he on that field or had he gotten away as well?

The sense of relief was erased as another torturous stab electrified her left leg. Eden couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips. She swallowed it as quickly as she'd released it, dug her nails into the wood of the trunk until she felt splinters prick the soft skin underneath, and she knocked the back of her head against the tree again and again, anything to distract her from the pain.

"General, I can't thank your men enough for their service. And you for yours, of course."

"Of course, Doctor." The General didn't sound appeased. His voice was tight, angry. She could feel a burgeoning fury welling up inside him. But the Voice was empty. He was like a blackhole and the further she travelled into him, the more lost and suffocated she became. It had always been that way with him. She had never been able to effect his emotions, could never induce him to feel pity for her, to care for her, to want to let her go; and when he'd realized the effect she'd had on others, no one but himself had been allowed to go near her. She could never reach him.

That cold emptiness pulling on her mind told her that this was no dream, that The Voice, Doctor Rhys Weir, was alive, that she hadn't killed him as she'd thought. She could still taste his blood in her mouth.

Get up, move!

Her left leg burned. She stood on the tiptoes of her right foot, clawed the limb above her and slipped down once again. Almost, almost!

"Are you looking forward to seeing the home of the great Magneto, General?" the Voice asked.

"Not as much as you, Doctor." The General paused, then said. "After we invaded Iraq, I stood on top of one of Saddam's palaces and used a sat phone to call my family. When I told my son where I was, he was amazed. I have to say, I did enjoy that."

Eden took a deep breath. In another few moments, they would be in sight of her. She ignored the knife blades in her left leg, distributed her weight equally and leapt. She clung to the limb with her arm and dangled there, cutting her face on the rough wood. Don't let go. Don't let go.

"And will you do the same today, General? When we've secured the fortress?"

"Not this time. My son..." he paused again. Eden tried to swing her leg up over the branch, didn't make it, and scraped her ankle on the trunk. "My son is a Mutants' Rights Activist. He and I haven't spoken for some time."

"A pity," said Weir, feeling no pity at all.

The General stepped within her line of sight, but he had his back to her. She leaned up with all her strength on her trembling arm, pressed her left leg against the trunk, pushed off and swung her other leg over at last. She nearly lost her grip, but held on until she was safely straddling the limb, breathing as slowly and quietly as she could through her nose, sweat dripping down the sides of her face. If they hadn't been talking, she was sure they would have heard her breathing.

Finally, the Voice appeared beside the General. Eden was stunned to see him in a wheelchair. The thinness of his legs told her that he'd been in it for some time. She hadn't killed him, but she'd paralyzed him from the waist down. It gave her little comfort.

They walked directly under her tree and were soon followed by more than a hundred men, most of them walking, weapons at their sides and strapped to their backs. She didn't move. Some of them looked up, but never saw her.

The troops were followed by ambulance-like vehicles and non-military personnel. By the time the entire convoy reached the clearing, Eden had regained enough strength to climb a little higher. From her vantage point, she watched as they loaded up mutant after mutant onto gurneys, put them into the backs of the unmarked ambulances and before they closed their doors, she saw them start to administer fluids through IVs and strap oxygen masks to the mutants' faces. No body bags...not one. Eden thought she might vomit.

She watched them lift up Pyro...strap him to a gurney... She wanted to scream, tell them to stop, to leave him alone!

He wasn't dead. None of them were.

They were paralyzed, as Eden knew she had been, paralyzed by a drug made from Eden's own poison. Rogue had gotten to her too late for Eden to tell her; she'd already started to lose her ability to speak. So, she'd done the only thing she could think of. Eden had opened her mind to Rogue when she'd grabbed her hand before the poison had completely taken over her body. Her hope was that if Rogue could find the right memory, she might understand that Eden wasn't dying, that she was still alive and that, if they were able to escape, they needed to come back for her. She hadn't realized until now that they would need to come back for everyone they'd left behind.

Weir had taken vials and vials of her venom when she'd been a prisoner in his lab and she'd never forgotten what he'd said to her the last time he'd drawn it. "Someday we will find a way to turn this poison into a weapon against your people. We've already broken it down and can almost replicate it exactly. It won't be long now. Someday we will, my dear Jaida, someday soon. We'll even find a way to turn it against you."

Eden's poison could do three things: kill, paralyze, or put to sleep. It all depended on the dose, which she was able to control. She'd used it on Toad when he grew restless in the night, beset by nightmares. She'd paralyzed Rogue with it when they'd kidnapped her to use in the machine. She'd killed at least ten people with it: Dr. Louis Marco, the guard at the door of Pyro's hospital room, the doctor who'd tried to stop her from escaping Weir's lab. And she had believed that she'd killed the Voice as well.

But he'd survived the highest dose she could administer. He'd survived and he was here, now, in her home, on Magneto's island. And all those mutants lying on the battlefield were alive. She'd assumed she was still alive because the poison had been her own, altered slightly but not enough to kill her. Now she saw that it had been meant to paralyze her and everyone else.

As she watched the doctors and nurses collect the sleeping bodies and load them into the vans, she saw that they didn't turn around and go back the way they'd come. Instead, they kept moving forward, to the Lair.

That could only mean one thing.

Dr. Weir was turning her home into a laboratory and her friends into his next experiments.

She'd live a year on this island by herself, after Sabertooth had abandoned her when she'd chosen to wait for Magneto to return. But as she watched the island fill with hundreds of people, Eden knew that she had never been more alone in her life.

* * *

Rogue rested her head on Toad's chest. She listened to his heart beat and once again, felt peaceful. She could feel Toad's confusion, but underneath it, his emotions were at rest as well. For the time being, they were outside of pain and sadness.

She ran her finger down his stomach and felt a long, raised scar. "How did you get this?"

"Stabbed. In prison."

Rogue traced the edges of the scar, and then caressed it lightly. She felt him shiver. "What were you in prison for?"

"You really want to know?"

She looked up at him.

"Alright." He gave her a dark look. "Assault and battery. Robbery. Destruction of property. Attempted murder. And murder. I broke a guy's neck with my tongue."

Rogue pushed her hair behind her ear and settled back down. "Sounds like you," she murmured. She found another scar above his pelvis. "What about this one?"

He looked down at himself. "Scissors. At the orphanage." He lay back again. "Follow the line."

Rogue did. "It's an M," she said, surprised, leaning up to look at it. "They carved an M into you?" A wave of disgust and pity came over her.

"Held me down. Got hold of a scissors."

She traced the M again. "This was before..."

"Before I kicked that little shit inside out?" he finished. "Yeah. Who d'you think did that to me?" He shifted his weight to the side and took her hand and brought it around his rib cage to his back. "Feel that?"

Rogue felt four long, thick lines. "What's that one?"

"Cat scratch," he said, a smile in his voice.

She turned to look at him again, then leaned over him to see the scar. The lines were blush red and raised, perfectly uniform. "Come on," she said, "seriously."

"I am serious. Fucking big cat."

She raised an eyebrow. "What kind of cat?"

He put his arms behind his head. "The mutant variety."

She touched them again. "Sabretooth?"

"Got it in one," Toad said.

"Why?"

Toad sniffed. "Why not? He'd have scars from me, too, if he didn't have that fucking healing power."

Rogue lay down again. He put his arm around her and they stayed like that in silence for awhile, then, "You like hurting people...and killing people."

He tensed. "Most of the time, yeah."

Rogue breathed slowly. Shouldn't she be frightened? Shouldn't she be appalled? Why wasn't she?

"When don't you like it?" she whispered.

Toad was quiet. She listened to him breathe, the sound of his lungs filling and emptying. He smelled like sweat and sex and the sea. "Maybe I always like it," he finally said.

The rocking of the boat was hypnotizing and the warmth of Toad's body began to relax her into sleep.

Toad's voice broke the gentle silence. "Rogue."

"Yes?"

"This can't happen again."

Rogue sighed. "I know."


	16. Chapter 16: Illusion

Chapter 16: Illusion

Magneto sank the boat. He used his powers to push it out from the shore and pull it into the sea. They all watched as it was enveloped by the waters. A sense of dread permeated the group.

He turned to them. Everyone carried a large backpack with as much food and supplies as they could carry. They looked exhausted.

"Some of you may not wish to go any further," he began. "I don't blame you. But those of you who wish to stay, I thank you. We will divide into three groups. Cain, Hawk and I will lead them." He named the mutants that would be in each group. They divided up to join their assigned leader.

Rogue hesitated before she joined Magneto and he saw how she and Toad looked at each other. Toad was in Hawk's group. "If I don't see some of you at the rendezvous point," he finished, "remember that you are still our Brothers and we will welcome you back should you choose to return to us."

Cain gave Magneto a nod, but the anger in his eyes was clear. "Alrigh', let's move," he said and the two groups separated, Hawk taking to the air to make sure the path ahead of his group was clear. Quicksilver would go ahead of Cain's group to ensure their safe passage.

Magneto turned to Rogue. "I'll need you to do the same as Hawk and Pietro."

She didn't look at him. She was watching Hawk's group vanish into the shadowy forest. Toad was the last to disappear and he looked over his shoulder before he did so. "I can't see as well as Hawk can, especially in the dark."

"I know, but it's better than nothing."

She nodded and started to rise. He took her arm. "Rogue, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She soared into the sky.

The others in his group watched her and then turned their eyes to Magneto. "Let's go," he said. And they followed him.

* * *

They walked for two days before Rogue descended to tell Magneto that she could see the other two groups closing in. When they arrived, Magneto saw that only a few had fled, but every mutant that left thinned their already devastated army. _So called, _he thought. They were hardly an army anymore.

"There's a mountain with a sheer cliff about a mile ahead," Hawk told him. "It's not on the map."

"No, I wouldn't think so," Magneto replied. He walked forward.

"That's our destination?" Hawk asked, confused.

"It is."

Hawk opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. "Alright," he shrugged.

Toad walked up to Magneto. He looked pale. "Boss," he asked quietly, "where are we going?"

"I would have thought you'd have figured it out by now."

He shook his head. "I was hoping I was wrong."

"You're not."

Toad's shoulders slumped. "Fuck."

A mile later, they were at the base of the huge mountain. The cliff face jutted up half a mile into the sky. It was impossible to climb. As soon as they approached it, everything vanished in a thick fog. Magneto couldn't see anything in front of or behind him. He heard the others gasp in surprise at the sudden whiteout and start whispering to each other. A rumble of thunder came next and a great wind pushed him nearly to the ground. A little smile touched his lips. He was no fool.

"Jason," he said loudly, "that's enough I think."

After a moment, the fog thinned somewhat. He could see a few members of his Brotherhood looking confused and a little frightened.

"Unbelievable," sneered an acerbic, booming voice. "It's my old friend Eric."

A man appeared in front of them out of thin air, well-dressed, tall and handsome. He looked almost exactly as he had the last time Magneto had seen him-eighteen years ago.

"How the hell did you find me and what in God's name do you want?" demanded the man.

"You're looking well, Jason."

"Fuck your flattery, Eric. Get off my property before I convince you to throw yourself into the river and die."

Magneto stepped up closer to him. "You know that won't work on me."

"What about your little band of merry men here? Do they all have your fantastic ability to see through me?"

Toad stepped up beside Magneto, glaring at the tall man with pure hatred. "I do."

Jason laughed. "Oh, don't tell me _he's_ still with you. My God. Toad the toady. Twenty years later and you're looking as hideous as ever."

Toad bristled, tightened his fists, but didn't move. "It's alright, Toad," Magneto said.

"Yes, Toady, it's alright. I won't hurt your precious master. And he is your master, isn't he? You're still the little lackey you've always been, I see."

"Fuck you."

"Toad." Magneto put a hand on his arm to silence him.

Jason clapped his hands. "Good dog. You've trained him so well, Eric."

"I'd be careful around him, Jason. He's not the boy you knew."

The other man stepped up to Toad and appraised him. "He's taller, I'll give you that. But not by much." Then, turning back to Magneto, he said, "Why are you here?"

"I need your help."

"That's original."

"It's the truth."

Jason cleared the fog completely and looked at all the mutants that were with Magneto. His eyes landed on Rogue and Caruthers. "At least you brought some pretty ones."

"We need a place to hide," Magneto continued, ignoring his comment.

"Oh, I bet you do," Jason smiled. "Lost your little island, did you? Oh yes," he said when he noticed Magneto's surprise, "I know all about that."

Magneto said nothing, but kept eye contact with his old ally.

Jason twisted his lips and shrugged. "Fine. I hope you don't mind sleeping outside. I can only fit the pretty ones in my house. And I'm sure he," looking at Toad, "would prefer a cave of some sort. Or a marsh. We have a few of them."

Magneto looked at Toad. "We have plenty of supplies."

"And you'll leave when I tell you to?"

"Of course."

Jason raised his eyebrow, extended his arm and theatrically waved his hand up, then down. The cliff face vanished and revealed a clearing and a small house. Everyone jumped back.

"And keep in mind," Jason drawled, "I'm doing this out of pure curiosity." He clapped a hand on Magneto's shoulder and smiled wide. "So good to see you again, old friend."

* * *

"I have never made a fire in my fucking life."

Cain stood staring at the pile of wood and twigs they'd collected. Rogue couldn't help but smile a little at the bewildered expression on the big man's face. "Weren't you ever a boy scout?"

"Oh yeah, got all my badges and everyfing-except for fucking fire lighting."

Hawk smirked. "You're an idiot." He picked up the matches and started stacking the twigs expertly. Rogue watched his long-fingered hands move and his beautiful face as he concentrated. He looked up and smiled at her. She turned away and saw Toad watching them, expressionless.

"Don't light your feathers on fire." Juggernaut sat down on the ground near Toad. "Who is this fucker, anyway, our host? He seems to like you, Toad."

"He's a wanker." Toad's voice was barely audible.

"I figured that one out myself."

"He can make you see things that aren't there and believe things that aren't true. And he can make himself look like anyone or anything he likes. He calls himself Mastermind. Or he used to, anyway."

"Guess we gotta watch out for ol' Masterbater, then."

Toad said nothing and his face never changed.

"There!" Hawk said, as the twigs caught fire. "Easy." He started gradually adding larger pieces of wood.

"Just because you were a fucking nomad," Juggernaut scoffed.

"I was not a nomad. I'm just smarter than you." He winked at Rogue.

Toad stood up abruptly and walked away from them.

"Oy, Toad," Juggernaut called. But Toad kept walking and didn't look back. "Somefing I said?" he asked Rogue.

She shrugged, but kept her eyes on Toad's back until she couldn't see him anymore. She turned back to the fire and bit her lip. Hawk was staring at her and he wasn't smiling anymore. "You want to follow him, go ahead," he told her icily.

Rogue hesitated, but only for a moment. She got up off the ground, pulled Toad's jacket around her and went after him.

* * *

Hawk cracked the branch he was holding in half. "I hate him."

"Who?" Cain asked.

"You know who," Hawk snapped. "Toad. I fucking hate him."

"Have some pity, mate. Guy just lost the love of his life."

Hawk shook his head. "The love of his life who he beat and nearly murdered and who died trying to avenge the love of _her _life. You are unbelievable."

"You still on that? What's your fucking problem? Do I need to hit you again?"

Hawk's fingers went to his still-purple nose. He held the broken branch in his other hand and pointed it at Cain. "I will stab you in the eye." He tossed the pieces into the fire.

"What's your fucking deal with Toad anyway?"

"Look at him! He's ugly. He's insane. He's sociopathic-"

"Ooh, big word."

"And he's gotten not one but two beautiful women to fall for him."

Cain raised an eyebrow. "One of whom you're interested in, I take it?"

"That's not the point."

"Well, what is your fucking point?"

Hawk scoffed and opened his arms. "Look at me!"

Cain rolled his eyes. "What? You want a prize or somefing? Best Looking Mutant of the Year? Most Eligible Birdman?" He shook his head. "Don't worry about Rogue. Her and Toad, that's not even a possibility. I don't know what's going on wiv them, but it's not that. Ok? And look, I know you don't get this and you probably won't ever, but Eden didn't 'fall' for Toad, alright? She loved 'im and that's that."

Hawk turned his face to Cain, his eyes narrow and dark. "I watched my father beat my mother and sisters every day for thirteen years. I finally hit him one day to get him away from my mother. Do you know what happened?"

Cain waited.

"My mother slapped me in the face and told me to leave and never come back." He threw some twigs into the flames. "And all these years later, it's not my father I hate. It's her."

"Why?"

"She never fought back." He let out a breath. "Eden," he said, "should have fought back. Eden should have come for one of us if she couldn't fight him herself. Instead she hid in her room for days until the rest of us figured out what was going on. Pyro told me when he found Toad choking Eden by the pools and stopped him from killing her, Eden yelled at him! She told him that he should have let Toad kill her!"

Cain's jaws tightened. "And we all know how reliable Pyro was."

"I believed him. I still believe him. That's what women like Eden do. And what made it worse with Eden was that she chose it. My culture teaches husbands to beat their wives and wives to be beaten. What was her excuse?"

Cain was seething. One more word out of Hawk's mouth about Eden and he'd tear the man's wings off.

"I'm sorry..." Hawk said suddenly. "I'm sorry. She was very important to you. I did not really know her."

"No. You didn't." Cain felt some of the anger leave him, because the truth was that he couldn't pretend he didn't see Hawk's point. But what did any of it matter now? All that mattered was that Eden should be here and she wasn't. She was dead, lying in a field in the mud. He rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat. "I don't know why the fuck I put up wiv you."

They sat in silence for awhile. Hawk rummaged through one of the bags for food.

"Did you ever really spend any time wiv her?" Cain found himself asking.

"No, not really."

"She was special. There was somefing...she made you feel... I don't know. Never mind. I'm tired."

Hawk was opening a can. "Were you in love with her?"

Cain thought of Eden's smile and of her eyes. "No." He shrugged. "Sometimes."

"Everyone seemed to be in love with her..._sometimes_," Hawk said. "Even Magneto."

"Yeah, well, I don't know about that. She just made you feel...kind of solid-like, safe, sort of...happy, just being where you were. You should've known her better."

"I'm sorry."

Cain wasn't sure if Hawk was apologizing or disagreeing with him, but it didn't matter. He'd said too much and none of it meant anything. He lay back against his pack, looked up and watched the bats flit across the dimming sky. He wasn't the camping sort, but this wasn't so bad.

"Hey," he said suddenly, turning to Hawk, "I fink I know what your problem is, mate."

Hawk faced him. "My problem?"

"Yeah. The Rogue thing."

Hawk raised an eyebrow and waited.

"Did you ever think maybe you're _too_ good looking?"

"What?"

"It's intimidating."

"Oh, fuck you."

"I know _I'm_ intimidated."

"I hate you."

Cain laughed and tilted his head back again, and instead of the sky, he saw Vanish's face looking upside-down at him. "Hi." She smiled.

"Hey darlin. How you feelin'?"

"Good. I'm sorry I never thanked you for your help the other night."

"Yeah. Broke my heart when I woke up all alone."

In the corner of his eye, Cain could see Hawk staring at them both and he winked at him. "So, you need somefing love?"

"Um...yeah. Could you help us put up our tent?"

"I would love to," Cain replied. Vanish's eyes were dark, almost black and the fire light sparkled in them. "Be there in a minute."

"Thanks," she said. "We're right down there."

He nodded and when she'd walked away, he turned his head to Hawk. "Hmm. How 'bout that?"

"You are un-fucking-believable."

Cain stood up. "You're English language cursing skills are improving by the day."

"Akrahouk," Hawk hissed.

"Don't be jealous. I can't help it. Girls just love an accent."

He walked towards Vanish's campsite and heard Hawk shout after him, "_I_ have an accent!"

* * *

"Toad! Toad wait!"

He turned around but kept walking, backwards.

"What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong? Is it because of Hawk?"

Toad shook his head, turned and kept walking. She caught up with him and felt that familiar pull the closer she got to him. She hesitated for a second, then took his hand and walked with him.

It seemed as natural as anything, walking hand in hand. He was wearing his half-gloves as usual and for the first time, Rogue realized that she'd never seen his hands, only his fingers. She held tightly. "I... missed you."

Toad looked down at their interlocked hands, then straight ahead. "Yeah."

They walked on aimlessly for some time. The quiet of the dense wood and his presence calmed Rogue. Eden's empathic powers were diminishing as the days went by, but she could still feel his emotions clearly and strong. And Eden's memories would be with her forever.

"What's wrong?" she asked again.

"I hate that guy. Mastermind."

"Why?"

Toad stopped walking then and turned to face her. He pushed her hair behind her ear and let his fingers run through it on the way down. "He hates ugly things, ugly people. He'll like you."

"You're not ugly."

He laughed a little at that. "You wouldn't have said that four years ago."

"Well, you were trying to kill me then."

They walked on. "I'll never forget that scream you let out in the helicopter."

Rogue remembered it, too. When she'd woken in the body bag after they'd captured her at the train station, she'd been terrified of his leering face, his cruel smile, purple eyes and green skin. And she remembered something else, too. Chained to the boat, begging him for help and his amusement at her distress and what he'd said to Mystique. "You always find the pleas of the innocent funny."

Toad lowered his head at his own words quoted back to him. "I'm not a nice man, Rogue," he said quietly.

She didn't know what to say to that because it was true. He wasn't a nice man. He was unstable, violent and abusive. He killed people with relish, laughed at the pain of others and enjoyed nothing as much as a good fight. He had hit Eden once, nearly broken her jaw. Rogue remembered the pain. And then he'd choked her almost to death.

But at the same time, he was so full of love that it was painful. It was hidden under layers and layers of hatred, evil and fear. But Eden had found it. And so Rogue was able to find it, too. The way he'd touched her, made love to her…she'd never experienced anything like it. So he was a murderer...what did that matter? She was one, too.

"You are who you are," Rogue finally said.

"And who am I?"

She shrugged. "You're the Toad."

He stopped again and took her other hand. He was smiling now. "You know, I did miss you."

Rogue bit her lip and looked away. "Look...I, um...I know we can't...you know...that it would be wrong for us..." She took a breath. "But...I need you. I need your help to sort through all this...stuff in my head. Some of what I see, what I remember...it frightens me. And I feel safe with you. Like she did."

"Rogue, I told you I'd take care of you. I will."

"Ok."

They walked for about half an hour in silence and came to the river that bordered one side of their host's property, the Shenandoah. The sun was setting pink and herons and other water birds stood in the river or took flight above them.

"If you could, would you stay in a place like this with me and never leave?" Toad whispered.

"Are you asking me? Or Eden?"

He crouched at the river's edge and trailed his fingers through the water. "Both."

"Yes," Rogue said without hesitation. "But we can't."

He picked up a flat rock from the mud, stood and skipped it across the river. "I know."

Rogue tried to skip rocks, too, and both times they sunk. Toad burst out laughing. "You suck!"

"Shut up!" she pushed him.

He swooped her up into his arms. "Let's see how far _you_ skip!"

"Hey!" she laughed.

Toad looked down at her face and a wave of pain and longing took away his smile. They stared at each other for an eternal moment.

Rogue used Marvel's power to levitate out of his arms and land several feet away. "I should go back."

She walked up the bank, shaking, chills running through her. He called up to her. "I'm making my camp here. If you need me or anything."

"Ok." She stumbled back into the forest, heart racing, and leaned against a tree, breathing hard. She could just make him out between the saplings near the bank, hunched over the river, all alone. His shoulders were shaking. He was crying. "Fuck..." she said to no one. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

* * *

_She is lying on the bed. She is blindfolded. Having no eyelids, she is not used to being unable to see. It makes her nervous. _

"_What are you doing?" she murmurs._

"_Whatever I want," Toad says. He kisses the inside of her bare thigh. "Don't move."_

_She doesn't listen to him and reaches out, trying to find him. He presses her hands down and she feels the warmth of his body as he leans over her. She longs to see him. _

"_I said don't move," he orders._

"_Why?"_

"_Do as I bloody tell you, alright?"_

"_But I want to see you."_

_They haven't been together since their first time by the pools, the night before the failure with the machine, the night before she thought she'd seen him die. Two long years ago. She has been with Pyro since then, but her body has longed for Toad. He is finally recovered and they are finally alone together._

"_Did you ever dream about me?" He kisses her breasts softly._

"_Yes, always."_

"_You didn't forget me?"_

_She can feel his hand resting on her stomach and takes it. It feels different, softer. The webbing is gone. "Never. Never, never."_

_Toad pulls his hand away as if her touch burns him. "Don't."_

_Then she feels it, a surge of fear, of shame. "My sweet love, my Toad," she begs him, "what's wrong? Why won't you let me see you?"_

_She feels him move away and sit on the bed beside her. "I'm not your Toad anymore."_

_She tears off the blindfold and sits up. He is slumped at the edge of the bed, looking down at his unfamiliar white hands, white arms, white legs. She wraps her arms around him, presses her body against his back, kisses his shoulders and his neck. "You are, you are."_

"_Eden," he says quietly, "I don't want you to see me, not here. I don't want to be with you like this. I want you to pretend like I'm me."_

_She kisses him once more, releases him, picks up the strip of cloth, and ties it around her eyes tightly, then lies back on the bed. "Come here," she says._

* * *

"Hey," someone shook her shoulder, "hey, you ok?"

Rogue jolted awake. She was in the woods, leaning against a tree, the sun had set and it was nearly dark. "Hawk?"

"I came looking for you."

She ran her hand over her face and through her hair. "I fell asleep. I was walking back and...I sat down for a minute and fell asleep."

"Were you dreaming? You were talking in your sleep."

She shook her head. "It wasn't a dream...it was a-" She caught herself. "Nothing. I don't remember."

Hawk stood and extended a hand. "I saved you some food. Come on."

Rogue took it. His hand was warm and strong. "Thanks."

By the time they got to the camp, it was dark and Rogue could see small fires dotting the acreage they were occupying. They sat at Hawk's fire and he gave her a bowl of soup he'd saved and some bread. The air had grown colder and Rogue zipped Toad's jacket closed and tucked her knees inside of it. She sipped the soup, not really tasting it, staring at the fire and listening to the logs pop.

"Is it alright?"

She nodded. "Thanks."

"Where are you sleeping?"

"I'm sharing a tent with Vanish and Caruthers."

They sat in silence for some time. She finished the soup and set the bowl aside. Rogue knew she should go and get some sleep, but she had no desire the leave the warmth of this fire to walk through the cold darkness to her tent. She wondered if Toad was still sitting at the river. She couldn't feel him and it left a wide emptiness inside of her.

Rogue looked at Hawk sitting next to her. The fire made his yellow eyes glow. "Hawk?"

He turned to her.

"Have you ever felt like you didn't know yourself? Like, you were sure you knew who you were and then...you just didn't anymore?"

"Yes.".

"When?"

He looked away. "When I started changing," he said. Rogue could sense there was more to the story. He was trying to decide whether or not to tell it.

She said, "What happened?"

Hawk busied himself by putting logs on the fire. It grew larger and hotter and then he finally went on, very quietly, "I grew up hating mutants. They were abominations. I was brought to meetings advocating mutant control and mutant extermination." He shook his head. "We didn't want a cure. We wanted them gone. The mutants were driven into small communities, ghettos, trying to keep to themselves. My father and brothers helped organize attacks. They would set fire to their homes, bomb their cars, drag them into the streets and beat them. They brought me sometimes to watch from the car."

He paused. The fire made his wings seem iridescent. "Then one day, I woke up with these painful lumps on my back and when I looked in the mirror, I saw feathers. I pulled them out and I bled so badly, I had to tie my bed sheet around my back until it stopped. I burned the sheet. Every night I felt the lumps growing larger and every morning I cut the feathers off or pulled them out. I started wearing oversized shirts. I couldn't look my parents in the eye. They thought I was just being a teenager. And then..." Rogue saw his hands were starting to shake and he dug his fingers into the dirt to stop them. She was nauseous suddenly. Hawk had a deep pit of anger, self-loathing and disgust inside of him as he told this story and she didn't want to feel it anymore.

"You don't have to tell me."

"I've never told anyone any of this." His voice was strained and quiet and she knew he wouldn't stop until the story was over. He couldn't. It came tumbling out of him, like water bursting through a dam. "At my school," he went on, slowly and determinedly, "there was a boy my age. We were playing football in the field. He went for the ball and one of the other boys grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. His back had spikes on it, scales, like...a crocodile or something and there were patches of leathery, green skin. He'd been hiding it, just as I had." His fingers dug deeper into the dirt. Rogue's heart was aching and her skin burned. She was breathing as fast as he was.

"The teacher stopped the boys from attacking him. But after school...I went with my friends and we trapped him in an alley...and we beat him. We beat him so badly, he had to go to the hospital. He was unconscious. And he never woke up. We killed him." He took a shuddering breath. "Aamir. His name was Aamir bin Ali."

Rogue grabbed his hand. She couldn't stand the digging anymore. She felt the dirt between his fingers. He faced her with surprise in his sad eyes and gripped her hand fiercely. "Don't you hate me?" he asked her.

"No."

"You should."

"I don't."

"Why not?"

Rogue was swimming in his despair, in a flood of emotions that had been hidden so long they seemed too horrible to be real. He wanted her to hate him. He wanted someone else to share in the hatred he'd had for himself for years and years. She couldn't do that, she couldn't hate him; but she could help him...that's what Eden had done and as long as she had Eden's powers, she could help Hawk and Toad and Magneto and anyone else carry their sadnesses so that they didn't have to suffer alone.

She got onto her knees so that she was level with him. "I'll never hate you, Saqr," she said and kissed his dry, fire-warmed lips. "Not ever."

Before he had a chance to react, she stood and raced back to where Vanish and Caruthers had set up their tent. She collapsed on the dirt outside the entrance and the cold was suddenly a welcome relief. She hugged herself. "Eden," she whispered into the dark, "how did you stand this?"

There was no answer.

* * *

How she had fallen asleep in the tree and not fallen out of it was a miracle.

It was evening. The sun was just setting. She watched as it sunk slowly behind the Lair. The field was eerily empty and silent. There were guards on duty all around the building and on top of it. They paced back and forth. Ever alert, ever wary. A vehicle passed under her tree every now and then, probably bringing more supplies or personnel to the new laboratory.

It was so perfect. The Lair was huge, it was far enough away from the continent to be inconspicuous and well out of the reach and notice of mutant rights groups. The Guantanomo for mutants, out of sight in the middle of nowhere.

They had taken her home, but they didn't know this island like she did. They didn't know about the aqueduct that Magneto and Toad had built to bring fresh water into the Lair, or the pipes that carried out waste. They didn't know about the underground tunnels and secret passageways under and in the Lair itself, or the room where they had a well-stocked food larder, among other things; they didn't know about the buried electrical lines.

They would figure out the plumbing soon enough and the electricity and possibly the food, but the passages were well concealed.

Eden's first priority was food and water. She had to leave this tree and get to the entrance of one of the tunnels.

She waited until it was dark. The moon was only a thumb nail in the sky. It was cloudy and cold. She listened for a long time and when she was sure of the sustained silence, she gradually descended the tree. She was stiff, but not in as much pain as she had been, although her limbs still felt heavy and thick.

On the ground, she kept to the shadows, moving from tree to tree, ready to leap up into one if she had to.

It was a long walk going around the perimeter of the island instead of straight across. She moved slowly, stopping frequently to listen to her surroundings. There was a gradual climb that grew steeper the closer she got to the back of the Lair.

This part of the Lair faced the ocean. It was a sheer cliff that plummeted down into the raging water. The Lair itself was partly inside this cliff, hiding it from outsiders who happened to stray too close. Eden and Toad's room looked out through one of the small, round windows, which couldn't be seen from this distance. Magneto had reinforced the rock face with well-disguised slabs of steel, making it almost impossible to climb up it. But at the very bottom of the cliff, below where Eden stood now, hidden in shadows behind sixty foot tall jagged rocks, was a natural cave. There was a thin, slippery ledge that one could leap onto and carefully glide down sideways to the entrance.

Or, one could swim.

Eden took a deep breath and dove into the water and as she swam out into the dark depths, she felt it suck her towards the cave and the dangerous rock pillars that guarded it. She could see clearly underwater and even though her body was weak, she felt stronger swimming than she had walking on land. She went down deeper and deeper and could see the widening bases of the giant stone columns. She swam in between two of them, narrowly avoiding a third. Anyone without the ability to withstand the pressure at these depths or unable to see underwater would have been dashed against the side of the cliff by now.

Eden couldn't hold her breath as long as Toad and after ten minutes of carefully navigating around the pillars and through rocky corkscrew tunnels, her lungs were starting to burn. Finally, she reached the inside of the cave and surfaced, taking a deep gasp of damp air. The sound echoed against the walls.

She pulled herself up onto the great wide ledge that ran the circumference of the cave and lay still for a moment, catching her breath. Above her, the inside of the cliff was jagged, steep and wet and the ceiling disappeared into the dark. The crashing waves outside shook the air, roaring and pounding. The spray of each one as it broke apart made it seem like it was raining inside the cavern.

Eden got up, legs shaking, and leaned her hand against the wall as she walked. There was a split in the rock. She stepped inside. It was a narrow passage, claustrophobic; her shoulders scraped the sides. At the end of it there was a ladder. It led up to a long pipe where waste flowed from the Lair and out into the ocean. The space the pipe occupied was small but wide enough for Toad to come down here and be comfortable when repairs needed to be made. It had been built with him and his abilities in mind. Eden was able to crawl atop the pipe towards the round archway that led to a kind of basement. There she would find their cache of food and other supplies.

She crawled up the arch and onto the ceiling, slithering silently, looking and listening for anyone else. Further down the passage and around a corner behind a large door was the Brotherhood's stash of supplies.

Bottled water, imperishable foods, dehydrated fruits and vegetables: supplies made for long term survival on the island. They were able to get fresh foods sometimes, but more often than not, dinner was an improvised meal of canned goods and re-hydrated vegetables.

Eden put as much into her pockets as possible. She had to take stuff with her; she couldn't just camp out in here. They would find it eventually. All the same, she allowed herself a few minutes to sit and eat. Now that she'd achieved her first goal, what was next?

Get off the island.

And go where? She had no idea where the survivors might be and no way to find out.

Wait for them to come for her.

And how long would that take? Would they ever come? Did Rogue understand what Eden had been trying to tell her? And more importantly, had Rogue even made it off the island? She hadn't seen her packed into one of the ambulances, but that didn't mean anything. No, for all intents and purposes, Eden was dead to the Brotherhood. Dead to Magneto, dead to Toad.

Her heart seized thinking of Toad. She shook the feelings away.

Get off the island. Wait. Get off the island. Wait for them to come for her.

Option three: stay here.

She looked around at the countless crates of supplies in the large, steel room. Enough food for an army. That had been Magneto's dream. An army, a Brotherhood of hundreds of mutants, with enough power to challenge the whole world.

And now, at last, there _was_ an army on this island. But it wasn't Magneto's.

For a moment, Eden thought of setting fire to the crates or carrying as many as she could and throwing them into the ocean. She was sick thinking of their enemies eating the food that was meant for Magneto's mutant army.

Despair filled her. It filled the room. It was all around her. Dozens of souls in pain and fear. It vibrated in and out of her, flowing through her like a poison. She could feel them all, up there. They'd wasted no time. The experiments and torture had already begun.

She held her head in her hands and started to cry. Her face was rough and dry from the salt water. Her head ached and her body felt leaden. She hurt everywhere.

She thought of Magneto in his plastic prison. He had spoken of it only once to her. It had nearly driven him mad, he'd said. He had felt that he was not only cut off from the world, but also from himself. He had sometimes felt so detached, that it seemed as though his mind and body were in two different places and neither could communicate with the other. He'd dreamed every night that he was in the camps again and often woke sweating and terrified, sometimes screaming for help. But what he'd learned, he'd told her, was that he could truly survive anything and come out of it stronger than before; that the experience had only hardened his resolve to take the world away from the humans and put it in the hands of mutants, where it belonged; and it had given him time to think and plan. She remembered feeling his terror and his pain when he'd told her this story, and taking the pain into herself and holding it for him. He had relaxed a little then and she, sitting on the floor, had rested her head against his knee. They'd sat in silence for a long time, drinking tea together.

What would he do now? He would be afraid, but he would view this as an opportunity. But to do what? What would he do? And suddenly, she imagined she could hear his voice in her mind.

_Stay here. Learn all you can. And then leave this island and find me._

Eden sat up straight. She had lived through the Voice's experiments and escaped him. She had saved Juggernaut's life and Sabretooth's. She had survived alone on this island for a solid year. She had found Magneto. She had found Toad.

She would find them again.


End file.
